Attitude is Everything connects disabled people with music and live event industries, to improve access together. Starting in 2000, the charity has supported industry pros and organisations to help better understand and improve access for Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people in music.
The charity’s State of Access Report - a report set up to set standards for national progress with disability in music - lays out exactly what that looks like in 2026, and how fraught with problems it can be, alongside the scale of the extra burden it places on disabled fans so they can safely enjoy their night out.
It’s the first report in eight years, and the first since Covid-19. In that time, the volume of the conversation around access in live music has hit a fever pitch.
It's partly out of necessity, given that Covid-19 has been described as a "mass disabling event", and as of 2023, 2 million people in the UK are estimated to be living with long Covid.
This fan-led review echoes similar calls to improve inclusion across music events. 24% of Music Fans Voice respondents disagreed (compared to 58% who agreed) with the statement that live music events currently reflect the demographic diversity of the UK.
Here's the report in brief.
There's a disability tax on attending live gigs
The average disabled music fan faces spending an extra £99 to attend a gig, the most common of which (66%) relates to travel or accommodation. Other common access related costs include health or recovery costs (40%), personal assistant or companion costs (28%), higher ticket prices (25%) or food and drink for medical purposes (23%). Sadly, 58% of fans say extra costs have stopped them from attending an event.
The leading barriers are systemic
The most frequent barrier disabled fans encounter relates to poor or inaccurate access information, which 69.5% of fans say they've experienced. Meanwhile, lack of seating or rest spaces is a barrier for 66.4% of respondents, booking or ticketing systems for 56.1% and staff attitudes or behaviour for 51.6%.
Access is inconsistent across the board
Only 20% of disabled gig goers say they feel they can consistently rely on their access needs being met. Even more starkly, 94% say they expose themselves to some level of risk when they go to a show.
The burden still falls on disabled people to advocate for themselves
72% of disabled gig goers have had to resolve access problems themselves, while 62% report having to explain their needs repeatedly. Just under half (48%) of respondents have said they've supported other disabled fans in the past, while more than half say they've had to leave events early due to access issues.
But accessibility is improving - slowly
Fortunately, 58% of those surveyed said that they think access has improved in the last five years, and 61% would describe events as 'somewhat' or 'very' accessible.
"The findings from the survey are shocking, but sadly not surprising. But, by sharing the feedback with the sector, and supporting the music industry to embed access, we aim to improve the experiences for the disabled community, because by removing barriers, we don’t just open doors, we open up an entire industry."
Track of the week
'Stupid Boy' by 1000 Rabbits
The first release since their critically-acclaimed EP Are We Friends Yet?, the new song is a hysterical, wild-eyed, four-minute trip of a track that they say was honed over hundreds of live shows. All the energy of their incredible live shows is channelled into something wayward and peculiar and wonderful. Have a listen.
Hopeful story of the week
MOTH Club's been saved by its community!
London’s MOTH Club was saved from closure last month following a campaign that gathered up more than 35,000 signatures and 27,000 objection emails from supporters. In her thank-you letter, general manager Edie Andrews added, "This was never just about MOTH Club. It's about every space like ours, in every town and city on the planet. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere."
This week's podcast
Concerts That Get Out The Vote
This week’s podcast, Shain Shapiro’s How Music Can Shape The World, shares an episode with iVoted co-founder Emily White about how live music can make people vote and shape elections.
And check out Episode 1 of the series, with guest Maggie Baird, founder of Support+Feed and mum to popstars Billie Eilish and FINNEAS.
As a companion to this podcast episode, we've made you a special playlist featuring tunes from Woody Guthrie, Jesse Welles and The Chicks. Browse our playlist archive.
And in other news…
- Sir Paul McCartney has officially achieved billionaire status. Who said, “Can’t buy me love”, again?
- Popstar Dua Lipa has settled the copyright case over her hit song ‘Levitating’ with musician and producer Bosco Kante. The case had argued Lipa had misused Kante’s work in remixes.
- Olivia Dean’s been crowned Apple Music's Artist of the Year for 2026 following the success of her album, The Art of Loving.
Sean Adams