What Music in Hospitals & Care does

Music in Hospitals & Care is a UK-registered charity, founded in 1948 and operating under a company-limited-by-guarantee structure with charity numbers in England and Wales (1051659) and Scotland (SC038864). It delivers professionally performed, in-person live music to patients, residents and service users in hospitals, care homes, hospices and community settings across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, reaching 47,000-plus beneficiaries across 400-plus settings and 2,283-plus hours of delivery in FY2024/25. Its portfolio is organised into targeted programmes — Live Music Programme, ICU Hear®, Lullaby Hour, Dementia Programme, Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme, Children and Young People Programme, and interactive Music Jam sessions — each delivered by auditioned and trained freelance musicians supported by an internal eLearning platform covering safeguarding, data protection and health and safety.

The core technology stack comprises Beacon CRM for donor, partner and musician matching, plus the eLearning platform for workforce training. The organisation does not sell its services; all live music experiences are free at the point of delivery, and the entire operating model is funded by grants from charitable trusts and foundations, NHS and health board partnerships, multi-year funding from bodies such as Creative Scotland and The National Lottery Community Fund, individual donations, community fundraising, challenge events, legacies, and the People's Postcode Lottery, which alone has contributed over £1 million since 2017. Distribution is direct: musicians are deployed into healthcare settings, often via healthcare professional referrals and direct enquiries, with deep co-development relationships including a long-standing partnership with NHS Lothian Charity/Tonic Arts (since 1980), co-launch of Hywel Dda Health Board's Arts and Health Charter, and research collaborations with the University of Edinburgh, Salford, Huddersfield and Sussex. In FY2024/25 the charity reported total income of £824,849 against expenditure of £1,582,095, implying a deficit funded from reserves, while health and social care partner income grew 17% year-on-year to £186,182.

Name

Music in Hospitals & Care

Legal name

Music in Hospitals & Care

Website

https://mihc.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Music in Hospitals & Care is a UK charity, founded in 1948, that delivers professional live music performances to patients, residents and service users in hospitals, care homes and hospices across the UK, reaching over 47,000 beneficiaries across 400-plus settings annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts in Healthcare Services

NAICS

Musical Groups and Artists (711130)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Therapy (Educational/Developmental Programs) (EDAMANAK)

Keywords

• Live music programmes
• Healthcare charity services
• Music therapy delivery
• Arts in health
• Community music engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Walton On The Hill

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Trusts and Foundations Grants: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations for specific programmes and regional activities. Sources include The Gannochy Trust, The MacRobert Trust, Lady Marian Gibson Trust, James and Jessie Shaw Charitable Trust, Plum Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, The Waterloo Foundation, Pilkington Charities' Fund, Esme Mitchell Trust, and others.
2. Health and Care Partner Funding: Grants and funding from NHS organizations, health boards, and healthcare charities. Includes NHS Lothian Charity, Hywel Dda University Health Board, Swansea Bay University Health Board, and other NHS partnerships.
3. Individual Donations and Fundraising: Donations from individuals, community fundraising events, marathon runners, and bequests/legacies. Annual marathon runners raise over £15,000; community fundraising raised £48,822 in 2024/25.
4. Lottery and Lottery-funded Organizations: Funding from People's Postcode Lottery players (£1 million raised since 2017) and lottery-funded bodies like The National Lottery Community Fund.
5. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate funding from organizations like London Freemasons' Charity, Sir John Fisher Foundation, and other company donors.
6. Membership (Friends): Friends membership programme offering ongoing engagement and support for individual donors.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Music in Hospitals & Care is a UK charity that delivers professional live music programmes to patients, residents, and service users in hospitals, care homes, hospices, and community settings. Trained professional musicians share live acoustic music tailored to healthcare environments including dementia, mental health, neonatal, intensive care, paediatric, and oncology settings.

Product overview

Music in Hospitals & Care is a charity offering a unified live music programme delivered through multiple targeted offerings. The core service is professional live music shared in health and care settings. The portfolio includes six main programme areas: the general Live Music Programme (covering hospitals, care homes, and community settings), ICU Hear® (for intensive care), Lullaby Hour (for neonatal/maternal units), the Dementia Programme, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme, and the Children and Young People Programme. Additionally, Music Jam sessions provide interactive participatory music experiences. All programmes are delivered by vetted professional musicians who are auditioned and trained to work sensitively in healthcare environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Music Programme A programme of professionally delivered live music sessions shared with patients, residents, and service users in hospitals, care homes, hospices, and community settings across the UK.
• ICU Hear

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 47,000 patients, residents and service users reached in 2024/25
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Jones WhyteminorOthers · 26 March 2024Partnership offering free Will writing service to supporters leaving a legacy to the charity. Part of the 'Leave a Legacy' fundraising initiative.
• Tonic Arts (NHS Lothian Charity)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership since 1980 with NHS Lothian Charity's arts and health programme. MiHC shares live music in Edinburgh hospitals including Royal Edinburgh Hospital, with over 2,000 patients reached and 116 hours delivered in one year.
• Hywel Dda Health BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiHC was part of the launch of Hywel Dda Health Board's Arts and Health Charter - the first of its kind in Wales and likely the UK. Represents a public promise to integrate arts into the health board's work.
• Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia (ECRED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership with University of Edinburgh exploring how people living with dementia engage with arts projects including music and dance. Two-year research project titled IMAGINED exploring meaning-making processes in participatory arts for dementia.
• Salford Institute for DementiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudy into how regular live music can enhance wellbeing and participation for people living with dementia and their families. MiHC musicians provided 12 monthly live music experiences at a specially created memory café.
• Rights Made RealcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Scottish Care and University of the West of Scotland delivering Room For Music pilot programme in dementia care homes in Glasgow, trialling group and one-to-one live music.
• So Many BeautiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-creative music collaboration with health and social care communities. MiHC is partner for the So Many Beauties Dementia Friendly Music Festival at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Other partners include Manchester Camerata, Together Dementia Support, Royal Northern College of Music, and Shared Harmonies.
• Age UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver live music in many regional Age UK centres, including as part of the Campaign to End Loneliness.
• Playlist for LifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked with Playlist for Life Help Points in Wales to bring live music to people in care homes and sheltered accommodation, bringing personal playlists to life.
• Royal Birmingham ConservatoireminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership where Music in Hospitals & Care musicians mentor students during their Music, Community and Wellbeing module. Graduates who studied the module before working with MiHC now mentor their peers.
• University Hospitals Coventry and WarwickshirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPioneering monthly residency collaboration sharing live music in oncology (cancer care) and paediatric wards at Coventry Hospital, representing the NHS Trust's commitment to live music as part of patient experience.
• NAPA (National Activity Providers Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiHC takes part in NAPA's National Day of Arts in Care Homes annually. Collaborated on guide to make percussion instruments.
• The DataKirk Black Talent on Board ProgrammeminorOthersShadow trustee programme through which Deborah Omo-Obi and Olawale Ojo joined as shadow trustees to support EDIA and organizational diversity.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Scottish Opera: Scotland's national opera company with community and health programmes including work in hospitals and care homes; comparable in the Scotland market and overlapping beneficiary populations.
• English National Opera: Major opera company with a recognised health and wellbeing programme (including singing for lung health and dementia programmes); comparable as a large arts institution using music for health outcomes.
• Welsh National Opera: Opera company with community health programmes, particularly in Wales where MiHC also operates; comparable as an arts-in-health provider in overlapping geographies.
• City of London Sinfonia (Sinfonia Smith Square): Orchestra with significant community and health-focused programmes including work in hospitals and care settings; overlaps in healthcare music delivery but operates as a broader orchestral institution.
• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPHO): Major UK orchestra with community engagement and health/wellbeing programmes including care-home and hospital residencies; comparable as a larger incumbent delivering arts-in-health activity at greater scale.

Emerging players

• Orchestras Live: UK charity that brings orchestral music to communities including health and care settings; comparable in mission to extend live music reach into non-traditional venues, though with broader orchestral rather than healthcare focus.
• Britten Pears Arts: Arts charity rooted in Aldeburgh with creative health and community participation programmes; comparable as an arts-in-health charity with research partnerships and participatory music focus.

Direct peers

• Nordoff Robbins: UK music therapy charity delivering music therapy in healthcare, education, and community settings; closely comparable in mission to use music for therapeutic outcomes, though delivered via clinical therapy rather than concerts.
• Manchester Camerata (Camerata in the Community): Orchestra with an established community and healthcare music programme, including dementia and health-focused concerts; directly comparable as a music organisation delivering health and wellbeing outcomes through performance.
• Live Music Now: UK charity founded by Yehudi Menuhin that provides live music performances in care homes, hospitals, and special schools; the closest direct analogue to MiHC in mission, delivery model, and beneficiary focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mihcuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/MiHCUK
• Instagraminstagram.com/mihcuk
• Xx.com/mihcuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Music in Hospitals & Care