Sound United – Americans Working Remote Rely on Music to Sustain Energy and Health – “During an otherwise bleak 2020, many Americans report that listening to music helped reduce stress and depression, while boosting work productivity, according to a new study. Per the study, music was more important to improving happiness over watching Netflix or even exercising. Additionally, nine out of ten respondents reported listening to more music in the last year than prior to March 2020. This survey of 2,000 American adults was commissioned by global audio company Sound United LLC, parent company to high-end audio brands like Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, and Bowers & Wilkins. The survey explored the importance of music on overall well being and healing, particularly during the Covid pandemic. Given the strong market growth in the audio and video sectors last year, Sound United sought to better understand how music was impacting people and learn more about how people were listening given the many drastic changes in our collective lives. Overall, respondents say that listening to music improves their mental health by helping them stay sane (85%), boosting productivity (85%) and greatly decreasing loneliness (79%). Specific to the pandemic, respondents report that music has become more important amidst the stresses of 2020 (79%), and that listening to a musician or song has been key to battling the Covid blues (74%). Looking toward the future, many view music as critical, with 58% reporting that music improves their ability to work, encourages exercise (42%), makes them a better employee (32%) and makes them a better parent (25%). In fact, if forced to choose between giving up social media or listening to music, 69% would give up their favorite social account…”