If you're anything like me, you will have spent many, many minutes paused outside a music shop, staring at the instruments in the window display. Being a guitarist, I'm naturally drawn to the shiny and alluring electric and acoustic guitars. After admiring the warm mahogany or vibrant sunburst colours for a while (and imagining myself playing one and what it might sound like), my eyes would invariably move to the price tag. At this point I gulp, say ‘I'd never be able to afford that’ to myself, then walk away.
The relatively high cost of many musical instruments can bring about real feelings of stress and anxiety around financial exclusion. When a child wants to learn the violin, drums or trumpet, no parent wants to deny them that opportunity for joy, development and expression. But as budgets tighten for many, purchasing a musical instrument may well get pushed down, or completely off, the priority list.
Musicians in need
The negative impact on wellbeing is not just felt by families struggling to afford a child's first instrument, however. According to research (Berg et al., 2022), adult amateur and professional musicians can experiencedepression and anxiety due to financial stresses. And in a recent Musicians' Census delivered by Help Musicians and the Musicians' Union, it was reported that those musicians on the lowest annual income (i.e. less than £7,000) were twice as likely to report low mental wellbeing than those with a more comfortable income of £55,000 or more. Add to this the additional strain of not being able to afford the tools of your trade, and the musician's wellbeing can take a real hit.
The impact of precarious and low incomes for musicians plus the cost-of-living crisis on families is real. Eking out the monthly budget to cover rent, mortgage, bills and food is hard enough, let alone the outlay on a new musical instrument or piece of equipment.
Help is at hand
Here at Creative United we know that our ‘Take it away’ scheme helps relieve some of that financial stress by making the purchase of an instrument more affordable. We don't want people to be priced out of their profession and passion for music, so, with the support of the Arts Councils of England and Northern Ireland, we give people the option to spread the costs into more manageable, interest-free payments.
We know the scheme works, and we know that it's made a real difference to many thousands of customers who have used it over the past 18 years. Of our Take it away customers, 76% wouldn't have been able to make their purchase without it. And, to illustrate just what it means to musicians, folk and Bluegrass musician Abbey Thomas recalls how ‘Without it [Take it away], I couldn't have bought this instrument – not for a very long time and potentially still not then. My progress with the mandolin would have been much slower and less enjoyable.’
Getting your hands on the right instrument at the right time is really important – no matter what kind of music you are involved in playing, or teaching. The continued presence of high-street musical instrument retailers is also critical. Those shop windows are a powerful source of inspiration, allowing us to dream as well as giving us the opportunity to try out instruments in person, and with the guidance of knowledgeable staff.
Sadly, in recent years we have seen the steady decline of music shops across the UK, along with the closure of grassroots music venues and other facilities that are essential for developing talent and building new audiences for live music.
Creative United is committed to supporting high-street music retailers who, in turn, are committed to providing affordable access to musical instruments to customers across the country. Although this won't solve the cost-of-living crisis, it alleviates some of the pressure, and – as a well-known supermarket might say – every little helps. A little can also go a long way when it comes to financial inclusion.
With a network of over a hundred musical instrument retailers across England and Northern Ireland offering Take it away, there's no need to stand outside the store, forehead pressed against the window. We encourage you to step inside and Take it away!
Links and references
- Berg, L., et al. (2022) ‘Musician occupational and financial stress and mental health burden’,Psychology of Music, 50(6). 10.1177/03057356211064642
- Help Musicians and MU (2023) Musicians' Census: Mental Wellbeing Report. tinyurl.com/bdzze26a
- creativeunited.org.uk
