15.12.2025: At the end of what has been an incredibly eventful year for the industry, UK Music rounds up some of the biggest moments of the past 12 months and casts an eye forward to 2026.
2025 has provided much for the music community to reflect on. From the ongoing challenges surrounding AI and EU touring, to some major victories for the industry around music education and secondary ticketing – not to mention major UK Music reports into the economic power of the sector (Hometown Glory and This Is Music) – there is plenty to digest before we look to the future and usher in the New Year.
Here, UK Music presents a handy roundup of some of the year’s biggest stories and successes as we bid farewell to 2025.
2025: A YEAR OF RECORD-BREAKING GROWTH
Once again, UK Music data revealed the full extent of our world-leading sector’s incredible contribution to the economy – and highlighted some of the challenges the music industry faces.
This Is Music 2025
In November, we launched our landmark economic report This Is Music, which revealed that UK music’s economic contribution in 2024 hit a record £8 billion in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) – up 5% from £7.6 billion in 2023. While this represents a record high, the rate of growth in 2024 was down by more than half compared to 2023, highlighting the need for urgent action to ensure the industry maintains its status as a high growth sector.
This Is Music also showed that UK music exports revenue in 2024 reached a new high of £4.8 billion – up 5% from £4.6 billion in 2023, while total UK music industry employment in 2024 hit a record 220,000 (full-time equivalent posts) – up 2% from 216,000 in 2023. You can read more on the report here.
We highlighted the fact that it is taking longer for artists to achieve breakthrough success, examining what this means for music creators and the grassroots ecosystem. We also tracked the impact of Brexit, which is continuing to cause issues for the industry. And we surveyed music creators about their attitudes to AI, and featured case studies from Scottish artist brownbear and Bristol-based Black Acre Records.
The report was the subject of widespread media attention from the likes of The Guardian, the Daily Mail, The Sun, LBC (Nick Ferrari), GB News, Rolling Stone, NME, Music Week, Headliner, and many more.
Hometown Glory
In July, our Hometown Glory music tourism report revealed how the likes of Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Bruce Springsteen, Sam Fender and Dua Lipa helped lure a record 23.5 million music tourists to concerts and festivals in the UK in 2024. The report showed that music tourists spent a record £10 billion in 2024 – a 26% increase on the 2023 total spend of £8 billion. Of the 23.5 million total, 21.9 million were music tourists from the UK – a 21% rise on 2023. A total of 1.6 million visitors last year were overseas music tourists – up 62% on the 2023 total of one million. You can read more on the report here.
The report received major media coverage across national print, broadcast and trade media, while Chief Executive Tom Kiehl appeared everywhere from the likes of BBC News, LBC News, 5 Live, and ITV, to the Daily Mail, The Independent, Music Week and a raft of other leading media titles.
Local Music Action Charter
As part of Hometown Glory, we launched our UK Music Local Music Action Charter, which provides a practical guide designed to enable local authorities to boost their local economies through music. Policymakers can use the Charter to select a strategic priority (for example – growth, skills, high street, tourism, or inclusion) and explore relevant policy actions. You can sign up to the Local Music Action Charter here.
UK Music launched its Hometown Glory report at a special event as part of the annual LGA (Local Government Association) Conference in Liverpool.
Cracking Down on Ticket Touts
November marked a major victory for UK Music, the MMF, the FanFair Alliance and all those who have campaigned for a price cap to be imposed on secondary ticketing sites, as the Government announced that resellers will no longer be able to sell tickets at exorbitant prices. This represented a major development for music fans who have been ripped off by unscrupulous touts for too long. A quote from Tom was featured alongside a raft of fellow music industry leaders and artists in a press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announcing the decision. You can find out more about this story here.
Party Conference Season
In 2025, UK music took to the major party conferences where we hosted a panel session titled Push the Button: Why Backing British Music Will Kick Start Growth. The sessions were held at the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat conferences and highlighted our Hometown Glory music tourism report and celebrated our world-leading industry while shining a spotlight on the key challenges it faces. You can read about our conference activities in full here.
We also ran a series of parties as part of our Amped collaboration with TikTok at the Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and Reform conferences. The Labour and Conservative parties featured stellar performances from Heather Small and Chesney Hawkes respectively, while the Labour and Lib Dem events also saw Parliamentarians, Councillors and activists participate in a ‘Battle of the DJs’. You can view photo galleries of these events at the hyperlinks above.
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music
The APPG on Music were active across 2025. In July, members received briefings from UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl on the Hometown Glory report and the Association of Independent Festivals CEO John Rostron about their Festivals Forecast 2025. At its AGM on November 18, APPG members re-elected Pete Wishart MP and Alex Sobel MP as Co-Chairs as well as receiving a presentation on UK Music’s This is Music economic report. In November, the APPG hosted a charity music quiz alongside UK Music to raise money for Help Musicians. Across the year, the group were briefed ahead of debates on key issues including the ticket-resale cap, business rates on recording studios, and EU touring.
M People icon Heather Small gave a stellar performance at UK Music and TikTok’s Amped event at the Labour party conference
Soft Power
As 2025 kicked off, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and the then Foreign Secretary David Lammy recruited UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl to the Government’s newly assembled Soft Power Council. Its aim is to enable government to build stronger partnerships domestically and abroad, identifying opportunities to both strengthen the UK’s reach and reputation and boost its influence on the world stage. You can read more about the Soft Power Council here.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
As the music industry bade farewell to 2024 and ushered the arrival of 2025, UK Music was setting the tone for a conversation that would dominate much of the year ahead. Keen to establish the UK as a global AI hub, the Government opened a consultation on the matter of AI and copyright, proposing a system that would rip up existing copyright law and allow big tech firms to train their AI systems on the work of the creative industries without payment, permission, or transparency.
In response, UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl joined the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, and Sir Mick Jagger in driving home the argument that such a scheme represented daylight robbery and that big tech firms must never be allowed to steal the work of our world-leading music creators and companies. By engaging at length with all UK Music members, as well as MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum, we were able to drive a strong and sustained campaign, which resulted in huge nationwide media coverage across print, digital, and broadcast media.
UK Music also took the message to the heart of Westminster, as artists, MPs, and music industry leaders descended on Parliament equipped with placards for a demonstration that sent a clear message to AI firms: Stop Stealing Our Music! You can view video footage from the event here. The event was covered by a host of media including the Daily Mail, The Independent, Sky News, Financial Times, Evening Standard, Music Week, Record of the Day and many more.
Musicians, industry leaders and politicians joined forces at Westminster to urge government to ditch plans to allow AI firms to steal their work without payment or permission.
The campaign continued – and continues – long after the consultation period ended at the close of February. In particular, UK Music played a big role in the constitutional stand-off in the Houses of Parliament on the Data (Use and Access) Bill in spring. Here, UK Music pressed MPs and Peers to support amendments to legislation which would ensure greater transparency to music creators and businesses from AI firms. This activity resulted in some concessions, including a government reset on this policy area.
At our 2025 Summer Party, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP gave a rousing speech that not only hailed the power of our industry but saw her promise that Government ‘would not embark on a controversial copyright shakeup without the support of the creative industries’.
On November 4, Tom gave evidence to the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee on AI and copyright, highlighting that while the industry is very much open to the opportunities AI may have to offer the sector, rightsholders must always be prioritised over big tech firms seeking to train AI systems on human work without payment or permission. You can read more on the session here.
On December 16, UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl welcomed findings from the Government’s Copyright and AI Statement of Progress. The progress statement outlines the Government’s work on copyright and AI to date, as well as the steps being taken as it prepares its report and economic impact assessment.
Tom said: “UK Music welcomes the findings from the Government’s AI consultation, which vindicates the position taken by UK Music and the wider creative and ethical AI industries. Given only 3% of the 11,500 respondents backed the government’s preferred text and data mining (TDM) exception, and 95% supported licensing of training data by strengthening or keeping UK copyright as it is, the government must now unilaterally drop its anti-creator, anti-business proposal and back British music and creative industries.
“The Government must also establish a robust regulatory framework for AI firms’ interaction with copyright protected works, requiring transparency, labelling and a requirement for AI companies to comply with UK copyright laws regardless of where models are trained, in return for UK market access.”
The future of AI and copyright may remain uncertain, but UK Music is committed to working with Government to protect the rights of our industry for generations to come.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP and UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl at the UK Music Summer Party.
EU TOURING
This year saw UK Music continue to campaign heavily for the removal of barriers to EU touring. Since the UK’s exit from the EU in January 2020, the music industry has faced a number of challenges. These include increased costs and bureaucracy due to requirements for visas, work permits and carnets for touring UK artists, merchandising costs and the need to navigate complex cabotage requirements for trucks and hauliers that support tours in the EU.
Musicians, artists, and industry leaders united at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival to urge political leaders to sweep away the barriers to touring the EU.
Wish You Were Here
In a bid to put pressure on UK and EU leaders to tear down these obstacles, UK Music called on figures from across the worlds of music and politics to sign an open letter demanding swift action. The campaign culminated with UK Music taking a giant postcard to the Great Escape Festival in Brighton, with artists, industry leaders, and MPs heading to the coast to sign the letter and take part in a photocall during the event. You can read about the campaign here. The letter was timed to coincide with the May EU-UK summit, and ensure the government’s manifesto commitment to sort out EU touring was taken forward. While the eventual summit agreement was disappointing, these activities provided much needed momentum for the next stage of this work.
Cultural Exchange Coalition
In December 2025, UK Music announced the launch of the Cultural Exchange Coalition (CEC) – a campaign formed by UK Music, Musicians’ Union and Pearle aimed at highlighting the vast mutual benefits of a stronger cultural relationship and pushing leaders to ease the process of EU-UK touring. You can read more about the CEC here.
DIVERSITY
The Five Ps
In October, UK Music introduced its ground-breaking Five Ps guide to bring about enduring change and positive outcomes for diversity and inclusion across the music industry. The Five Ps is a practical guide that follows widespread consultation right across the sector. It maps out five key areas that UK Music and the UK Music Diversity Taskforce have identified as crucial in delivering significant outcomes and enduring change. These areas are People, Policy, Partnerships, Purchase, and Progress. You can read more about the Five Ps here.
In addition, UK Music Diversity Taskforce Chair Ammo Talwar MBE wrote an op-ed that explained how the Five Ps can help the sector rethink its approach to diversity and inclusion and bring long-lasting positive change for generations to come. You can read his piece here.
Supporting Talent
Ammo Talwar also produced an op-ed on why the industry needs to do more to back marginalised artists. He wrote: “My sector, music, is supposed to be the home of self-expression and rebellion. Unfortunately, it remains a place where certain voices are heard more clearly than others. LGBTQ+ artists, musicians from Black and working-class communities, and those who don’t fit traditional moulds still face barriers that shape their careers, often long before an audience hears a single note.” You can read the piece in full here.
UK Music Diversity Taskforce Chair Ammo Talwar MBE.
Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, UK Music Head of Diversity, Eunice Obianagha, explored the strides the music industry has made in cultivating greater gender equality, as well as the challenges that still need to be overcome. She wrote: “The UK music industry has made strides in gender diversity, with 53.8% of respondents in the 2024 UK Music Workforce Diversity Survey identifying as women.
However, while female representation remains strong at entry-level and mid-career positions, significant barriers persist as women age particularly due to age discrimination and caring responsibilities. You can read Eunice’s piece in full here.
EDUCATION
Scrapping the EBacc
2025 delivered a major win for music education and the arts as the Government announced that it is scrapping the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). The announcement came in the Government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment review.
The introduction of the EBacc in 2010 has significantly contributed to the decline in music provision in secondary schools. As the EBacc does not include arts subjects, schools have often prioritised EBacc subjects at the expense of music and other creative options.
In recommending its removal, the Curriculum Review stated that “it is clear that the EBacc performance measures have to some degree unnecessarily constrained students” choices.
UK Music has campaigned extensively for the EBacc’s removal. It formed a key part of our submission into the Curriculum and Assessment Review and was a key recommendation in our five-point plan for music education earlier this year.
10 Years of MAP
UK Music celebrated 10 years of its Music Academic Partnership (MAP) scheme with a special anniversary event at the House of Lords. Spearheaded by UK Music’s Director of Education Dr Oliver Morris, MAP aims to inspire people from all backgrounds to pursue a career in music.
The event featured rousing speeches from Dr Oliver Morris, UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl, Labour MP and co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music, Alex Sobel, and 2024 Outstanding MAP Graduate (OMG) Award winner Emily Pugh, who delivered an inspirational address detailing how MAP has helped her to pursue a career in music and become a live events professional, working across numerous major festivals.
You can read more about the event here.
2024 Outstanding MAP Graduate (OMG) Award winner Emily Pugh.
2026
As we look ahead to the New Year, it’s clear that the topics that dominated much of 2025 will continue set the tone for the months ahead, with AI being an obvious case in point. After a year of lobbying Government not to rip up existing copyright laws so that big tech firms can steal the work of human creators, we will continue to campaign on behalf of our world-leading sector to achieve an outcome that puts rightsholders first.
We will also continue to push UK and EU leaders to tear down barriers to touring and to promote cultural exchange. As highlighted earlier, our economic report This Is Music revealed that while growth hit a record high in 2025, the rate of growth was down by more than half. In order to help accelerate growth in 2026 and maintain our status on the world stage it is vital we build stronger bonds with our neighbours in Europe to boost our economic and cultural wellbeing.
And as ever, we will continue to champion our incredible industry and collaborate with our brilliant members to further drive growth and to support the next generation of UK musical talent.