Like many forms of entertainment, music is an art that involves a long process of creation to bring a finished product to the listener. It might start with an idea or a thought, then progress into sheet music and written lyrics, before these ideas are fleshed out on a guitar or another instrument. If you are a band it might continue to rehearsals with the full group until everything gels together and the song comes to life. Then if you want to record it, the band will visit a recording studio where the individual parts could be captured individually (or together) and then joined together during the mixing process. Then once this is complete there is a finished musical recording ready for people to listen to. However, the band might not record the song and instead simply rely on the live setting to showcase their music.

With the latter case, this culminates in thousands of bands across the country hitting the stage and performing in front of crowds that can range from below a hundred to above fifteen thousand inside clubs, halls, concert auditoriums, theatres, arenas and stadiums.

But just as there are many different ways for bands and musicians to get their music out into the public, there are also many different ways for listeners to experience it themselves. When a song is recorded, there are a variety of ways that someone could listen to it, with the popular forms being on a computer, through an mp3 player or on a CD. In the past there were also options like vinyl record players, cassette tape players or mini discs. The listener can also go into town and experience it live, either in a specialised venue, inside a pub or out on the street.

There are also many different genres, ranging from rock and pop to others likes folk rock, reggae, blues, soul, industrial, metal, punk, progressive, world music or country and western. There are/were countless bands and artists like U2, Led Zeppelin, Britney Spears, Madonna, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bob Marley, Barry White, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, The Sex Pistols, King Crimson, Manu Chao and Johnny Cash amongst others.

There’s so much choice that no-one can say that they are not a fan of music.