New survey reveals UK public's biggest source of cultural pride is music
- Study of over 2,000 respondents commissioned for the BPI’s newly published All About The Music 2026 yearbook reveals that music is the cultural output the British public feels the UK can be most proud of
- Three-quarters of respondents thought music by British artists helps to improve the UK’s global standing, while more than two-thirds agreed the UK government should be doing more to support homegrown music
- All About the Music 2026 looks back at a milestone 12 months for the UK’s recorded music sector, including authoritative market data, analysis of the latest trends, and artist case studies which showcase the trajectory of some of the UK’s biggest emerging stars
The British public’s enduring love of homegrown music has been revealed in a new BPI study which places it comfortably ahead of film & TV, sport, literature, and other sectors as the cultural output which is the biggest source of national pride.
More than a quarter of all those surveyed – 27.0% – chose music as the cultural output for which the UK could be most proud, by some distance ahead of film & TV (19.3%), sports (18.9%), literature (15.6%), theatre & dance (8.4%), video games (5.5%) and visual art (5.3%).
The study of over 2,000 nationally-representative respondents was carried out by AudienceNet on behalf of BPI, the representative voice for the UK’s world-leading record companies and label businesses. It forms part of All About The Music 2026, the 47th edition of the BPI’s authoritative music industry yearbook, alongside a wealth of other music industry trends, stats, artist case studies, and research.
The high esteem in which the British public holds its music was made clearer by those classified in the same study as music listeners, who were asked to respond to a series of statements about British music:
- Around three-quarters (74.7%) felt British music was a source of national pride
- A similar number (73.9%) believed that music made by British artists helped to improve the UK’s reputation abroad.
- Just under two-thirds (66.5%) said they liked to listen to and support British artists when they could.
- More than 60% (63.1%) agreed the UK punched above its weight in terms of global music access.
The public’s admiration and support for British music comes as UK artists enjoy a significant upsurge in popularity at home and around the world, with a new generation breaking through onto the global stage in recent years, enjoying international chart successes and multiple BRITs and Grammy nominations and wins.
At a time when the music industry and other creative sectors have been calling on the UK government to support them and their intellectual property rights in an ongoing policy debate over generative AI training, the survey revealed clear demand for increased government backing of UK music. Some 67.9% of those identified as music listeners agreed the government should do more to support homegrown music.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive, said:
“It’s encouraging to see that the public holds British music in such high regard and is so committed to seeing its continued success. The UK is a creative superpower both economically and culturally, as can be seen across our many world-leading creative industries.
“Music speaks to the human experience in a unique and powerful way and is there for us at every moment in our lives. As we’ve seen over the last year with numerous new artists breaking through on the world stage, British music has a truly global impact - its importance and power as a cultural asset and economic force cannot be overstated.”
The yearbook is out now, available free to BPI members or available to purchase from the BPI’s online store.
All About The Music 2026: a comprehensive overview of the 2025 recorded music market
BPI’s All About The Music 2026 looks in detail at sales, streams and revenue, charts and case studies, as well as providing expert focuses on the year’s biggest singles and albums overall, as well as by specific formats such as vinyl and CD.
It offers a deep dive on the music streaming market, including an analysis of how a record number of tracks surpassed multi-million streaming thresholds in 2025, with nearly 6,000 tracks each generating more than 5 million audio streams in the UK last year. The yearbook also features a section on the opinions and activities of music consumers via a series of surveys on a range of topics including music listening, streaming, creator and fan engagement, and Artificial Intelligence.
The yearbook also shines a spotlight on some of 2025’s biggest music success stories, with definitive case studies of record label campaigns for Lily Allen, PinkPantheress, Sam Fender, and Skye Newman.
Other artist successes highlighted include new pop global superstar Olivia Dean, rappers Central Cee and Dave, and rock band Sleep Token, as well as the likes of Chrystal, EsDeeKid, The Last Dinner Party, Lola Young, Myles Smith, RAYE, Sienna Spiro, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice and YUNGBLUD. These are alongside the history-making tours undertaken by Oasis and Coldplay, as well as long-established UK music stars such as Calvin Harris, Charli xcx, Ed Sheeran, and Lewis Capaldi.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive, said:
“If the headline stats and music stories of 2025 remind us of anything, it’s surely that the strength of British music lies in its diversity and its ability to keep bringing through new generations of talent. As always, BPI’s yearbook provides a comprehensive walkthrough of the data behind the trends. It was a notable 11th consecutive year of growth in terms of Album Equivalent Sales in 2025, underpinned not only by a surpassing for the first time of 200 billion annual audio streams, but also a second consecutive year of growth for physical album purchases.
“This largely positive outlook for the market can, however, only be sustained if our members – the record labels which lie at the heart of the UK’s vibrant music ecosystem and drive its growth – continue to have the business environment in which they can thrive and, in turn, be able to invest in artists and music-making in the long term.”
Olivia Dean leads UK’s biggest global hits of 2025
The yearbook’s focus on UK music in the global market also reveals the presence of a number of rising domestic stars among the UK’s most-streamed artists around the world last year. These included Olivia Dean, whose hit Man I Need achieved the highest number of on-demand audio streams of any 2025-released British track globally last year, according to data from Luminate. Two other Olivia Dean tracks made the Top 10 - So Easy (To Fall In Love) and Nice To Each Other – with the rest of the chart featuring a mix of established artists such as Calvin Harris and Ed Sheeran and more recent global breakthroughs, including Fred Again, PinkPantheress and RAYE.
Top 10 2025-released tracks globally by UK artists– © Luminate
Pos. Artist & Title
- Olivia Dean – Man I Need
- Ed Sheeran – Azizam
- Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
- RAYE – Where Is My Husband!
- Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas – Blessings
- Olivia Dean – So Easy (To Fall In Love)
- Olivia Dean – Nice To Each Other
- PinkPantheress – Illegal
- Drake & Central Cee – Which One
- Fred Again, Skepta &PlaqueBoyMax – Victory Lap
Coldplay are year’s most-streamed UK artists globally
BPI’s analysis of Luminate data in the yearbook reveals Coldplay generated the most on-demand audio streams among UK artists around the world in 2025. Ed Sheeran was runner-up, followed by Dua Lipa, Arctic Monkeys and
Calvin Harris. UK artists in the wider Top 20 included Adele, Central Cee, Charli xcx, Harry Styles, Oasis and Olivia Dean, as well as British music legends such as The Beatles, Elton John and Queen.
Record-breaking year for UK’s independents
The part played by the UK’s thriving independent recorded music sector in the UK’s music resurgence is highlighted by in-depth BPI analysis in the yearbook. It reveals that in 2025, independent releases claimed a record 29.5% share of Album Equivalent Sales (AES), the metric used by BPI to measure combined volume consumption across digital, streamed and physical formats (including vinyl and CD). The independent share was up 1.7% year-on-year and over a third higher than in 2017, when indie releases made up 22.1% of the market.
Among physical releases, independents represented 33.4% of the entire physical music market and 34.5% of vinyl LP sales. Independent-signed artists Arctic Monkeys, Fontaines D.C. and Radiohead were among the 10 best-selling vinyl artists in the UK in 2025.
Nearly one in three (33.0%) CDs sold last year was an independent release, including UK Official Albums Chart No.1s by homegrown artists The Lottery Winners (KOKO), Pulp (More) and Wet Leg (Moisturizer). Some 41.8% of the digital albums market in 2025 was controlled by the independent sector.
The BPI annual yearbook All About The Music 2026 is free to BPI members and can be purchased here