Over half of survey respondents felt that AI would stifle creative innovation, although public interest in orchestral music, it reports, has hit a six-year high
A new report from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has revealed both positive and worrying trends in audience attitudes to orchestral music. Although the numbers of people interested in listening to the genre are on the rise, the threat of AI is unsettling for both audiences and artists.
The report, which is based on the responses of a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults in January 2026, found that 56 per cent of respondents were concerned that AI would stifle creative innovation, more than twice as many as felt AI would enhance creativity (21 per cent). The survey also revealed a reassuring understanding among audiences of the consequences of AI for music, with 51 per cent mentioning music being copied without royalties being paid, and 38 per cent concerned about the impact on career pathways in music.
RPO music director Vasily Petrenko said: ‘In terms of the creation of music, AI may in theory offer perfection, but great art is often art precisely because of human imperfections implicit within the shape and form of the piece. This is true of many great paintings for example. Any creative act – any art – always has an element of hesitation in the mind of an artist. Not hesitation in the exact moment of creation, but about the ‘fullness’ or ‘completion’ of the object. One of many examples might be the Unfinished Symphony by Schubert. This kind of hesitation is completely beyond AI, in terms of structure and idea. This adds weight to the thought that change and continuity can co-exist.’
When asked whether AI might replace human creativity by 2050, over 75 per cent of respondents felt this would not be possible in live music concerts, theatre productions or musical theatre, but 50 per cent felt it might be possible in studio recorded music. For respondents, the most acceptable uses of AI in music were mixing and mastering (30 per cent), the restoration of archive catalogues (46 per cent) and personalised playlist recommendations on streaming platforms (17 per cent).
The report also examined AI, not just as a threat to the music industry, but to audiences too, finding that job loss from AI could cause audiences to cut back on leisure spending. The vast majority of survey respondents (85 per cent) said they would cut back on discretionary expenditure if they lost their job to AI, and while eating out and holidays would be the first to go, live music events (42 per cent) would be next on the list.
Despite these anxieties, the report paints a positive picture of attitudes to orchestral music, finding that 35 per cent of UK adults want to learn more about orchestral music (up from 20 per cent in 2024) and interest has risen sharply among the under-25 age group, jumping from from 11 to 30 per cent in a single year. Eight in 10 UK adults say they now encounter orchestral music as part of everyday life.
RPO managing director Sarah Bardwell said: ’From many years of tracking research by the RPO, the picture that emerges is one of evolution. The orchestral audience is growing and diversifying – and in a healthy and inclusive way. Time shows that the new and established audiences are inextricably linked – the growth of the established audience in 2026 is the positive consequence of people starting journeys of discovery with orchestral music five or ten years ago.’