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Majority of UK students say music matters to their Freshers’ Week experience, PPL PRS reveals
A new PPL PRS survey of 1,000 UK students reveals that almost 90% say music is important to their Freshers’ Week experience.
In 2026, a record number of 18-year-olds were accepted into higher education, with 262,820 students securing places – a 3% increase on the 255,130 accepted in 2025. A recent survey by music licensing organisation, PPL PRS highlights how important music is to students’ experience of Freshers’ Week this year.
As universities and hospitality venues prepare to welcome thousands of students for the start of term, business owners will be wondering what their customers will be looking for, and it seems that entertainment and value-led experiences are key to kicking off Freshers’ Week with a bang. According to the recent PPL PRS survey, students heading into cities for Freshers’ Week are most likely to be seeking offers on food and/or drinks (65.8%), free or discounted venue entry (62.2%), and live music (55.3%).
Unsurprisingly, when asked what music entertainment they would prefer, live music came out on top with almost 50% (46.9%) of respondents, closely followed by DJ sets and background music with 45.1% and 40.8% respectively.
“Freshers Week is always an important time for us in Birmingham, and we’re looking forward to welcoming students back to Barbara’s Bier Haus with a packed programme of events and entertainment throughout September and beyond.
We know that having something different going on is key to keeping students coming back, so as always, we’re putting on a varied mix of events, promotions, DJs and live music throughout the month. Music plays a huge part in creating the atmosphere at Barbara’s and is a big part of what makes a night out memorable.
We’re looking forward to giving students plenty of reasons to visit us throughout the year, not just during Freshers Week, with quizzes, local bands, bingo, aprés ski brunches and much more!”
– Barbara’s Bier Haus, Birmingham
The importance of music for students isn’t new, as in 2022 UCAS found that the second most popular way for freshers to spend their time was listening to music. PPL PRS found that 2 in 3 respondents (66.1%) prefer to hear Pop music at Freshers’ Week events with “RnB (44.5%) and Hip-hop (44%) rounding out the top three.
The survey also found that 47.2% of respondents are expecting to spend the most money on drinks and a quarter (24.4%) said they would spend most of their money on food. Together, food and drink account for 71% of top student spending priorities when heading out to hospitality venues this year. Most students plan to spend £150 or less during Freshers’ Week (71%), with £51 – £100 being the most common budget range (29%). Only 14% plan to spend more than £200.
When asked where they are planning to go during Freshers’ Week, the most popular destinations were nightclubs (32.3%), on-campus events (29.9%) and pubs and bars (22.4%). Of those planning to visit pubs and bars, 76% of students prefer visiting a pub or bar that is playing music, highlighting music as a key atmosphere and venue selection driver. In fact, over half (51.3%) of respondents said that they would likely or definitely leave a pub or bar if there was no music playing.
To find out more and get TheMusicLicence ready for Freshers’ Week, visit pplprs.co.uk/get-themusiclicence/.
*Survey performed by PPL PRS via Attest of 1000 UK students aged 18-22 in August 2026
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