A BBC television presenter is calling for streaming services to give dementia sufferers free access to music.
Lauren Laverne is today asking major streaming companies to make the music freely available to anyone with the condition.
The Music for Dementia 2020 campaign ambassador, who presents Desert Island Discs, said music connects people with their memories and improves their mood.
She said: "Music should be made free for everyone living with dementia.
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"This is a generation who paid their music taxes by buying records and CDs and made the music industry what it is today.
"We'd love to see streaming services make music free for everyone living with dementia.
“I can’t imagine my life without music. We all instinctively know how important music is, and how beneficial it is for our wellbeing."
Lauren's call comes ahead of Line of Duty star Vicky McClure launching Our Dementia Choir on BBC One at 8pm today.
Vicky formed the choir, which is made up of people with dementia, after her grandmother Iris died from dementia in 2015.
She said: "My Nonna inspired me to join the fight against dementia. She was very bold, bright, had a cracking sense of humour, a very dirty laugh. The dementia stripped all that. It leaves the shell of you.
“I saw how music helped her, changing her mood, calming her down, and for a while bringing us back to the old Nonna.”
Dementia UK said music can be used to communicate with dementia sufferers, even if they no longer respond to words.
