Lockdown Music

With lockdown easing up a bit, it’s made me wonder has lockdown affected the music we listen to?

After speaking to a few people, there were mixed responses. Some have said that their music intake has increased. Those individuals have said that lockdown has given them the freedom and time to listen to music properly. Prior to lockdown, some people felt that when there were new releases, they rushed to listen to it. Whereas, lockdown gave them the opportunity to take the time to slowly listen to new releases and enjoy them more. On the other hand, others have said that their music intake has decreased as a result of lockdown, with some barely listening to music. This is due to them no longer having to commute to work and no longer needing to fill up time with something that doesn’t require their attention.

As for me, I’ve been a bit of both. At some point during lockdown, my music intake really increased due to the various clashes that seemed to take place on a daily basis. From the Verzuz battles to the NS10V10 shows, I attended almost every single clash possible. However, at some point my music intake decreased once again because I just wasn’t in the mood to listen to music. So in a way, my music intake has had its ups and downs

Another observation that I’ve made is that lockdown has driven the type of music people are drawn to. Most people when asked have said that they’ve listened to more upbeat and up-tempo music. This actually makes a lot of sense as I’ve mostly been doing the same. When lockdown first started, I wasn’t trying to listen to any slow music or calm songs because I felt that such songs could make feel sad and down. So, I often made the conscious choice to avoid any low tempo songs.

Lockdown has also affected my music intake by introducing me to new sounds. Not that I don’t listen to different sounds, but I’m someone who mainly listens to a specific genre and that’s Afrobeats. I try and branch out from time to time but I’m just not as consistent with it. However, at some point during lockdown I felt the urge to try new music because everything was beginning to sound so repetitive. I've now found myself listening to more R&B music and different artists.

So how has lockdown affected your music intake? And what have you been listening to during lockdown?