“I know that I was made to divinize” MUSIC WEEK


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Welcome to Music Week


As incomprehensible as it may be, 2025 is almost done and dusted. To say it was a momentous year in music would be the biggest understatement since Mayor Larry Vaughn claimed a shark had only “injured some bathers” in Jaws. We have well and truly seen it all play out before our eyes this year. Yes, there was the long-awaited, world-conquering Oasis


reunion (and shout out to the magnificent Clipse reunion, too!), but there was so much more besides. Since January, we have witnessed a procession of restructures and acquisitions, leading executives stepping down, major new


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appointments, protracted disputes and, of course, the tragic loss of some inspirational artists and executives. And, soundtracking all of it – the highs and the lows, alike – were some truly incredible songs, albums and tours. As ever, we’re capping things off by turning to well over 150 top names from across the music industry to help us put it all into perspective for this special end-of-year issue. It always makes for a fascinating read to get such a broad snapshot of people tackling the moments, issues and music that defined their year, and the lessons learned along the way. But what are the main takeaways? Well, apart from the fact that Rosalía has understandably left the entire UK music business transfixed with her brilliant new record, Lux… First, there is – brace yourselves, those of you with a glass-half-empty disposition – a lot of optimism on display. Recent incarnations of our year-end review have often been tinged with an air of sadness that British music has not soared to the same heights globally that we have been accustomed to… but not this year! In the charts, both at home and abroad, success stories like Olivia Dean, Charli XCX, Sam Fender, Raye, Lola Young, Jade, Wet Leg, Dave, Sleep Token, Little Simz, PinkPantheress, Myles Smith, Central Cee, The Last Dinner Party, Wolf Alice, Lewis Capaldi, Lily Allen, Skye Newman, Tom Grennan, Biffy Clyro, Yungblud, Sienna Spiro, The K’s and more have all played a part in this perceptible lift in mood. There’s less lamenting this year, and a whole lot more people celebrating. No-one is about to start resting on their laurels. There is still a long way to go. But, clearly, these successes have only intensified the hunger to see more. Another prevailing theme is something that has very much underpinned a lot of the above.


Without exception, what everyone is calling for is a renewed focus on – and patience with – old-school artist development. Viral hits are nice, sure, but the long game now seems to be the only path many executives are interested in. What shape this will take from here will be particularly interesting. For one, following the bold changes over at Warner Music Group this year, all eyes will now turn to what happens when the US and UK operations collaborate more closely than ever before on UK artists. It would be remiss not to mention that this year has also seen some notable battle lines being


drawn, with the resurgence of the “indie vs. major” debates of yore taking up a lot of headlines, to name just one. Many of these issues are still unfolding, and you can bet your last 35p Freddo bar that more will surface next year. But if something else presents itself when reflecting upon the year, it’s that there have been some very heartening displays of unity, too. Just look at the industry-wide Make It Fair campaign from Britain’s creative industries calling on the government to “protect human creativity in the age of generative AI”. Artists, too, have been doing some heavy lifting. Raye and the Ivors helped secure a game-changing pledge from major labels for per diems for songwriters, while Coldplay and others worked overtime to help the Music Venue Trust in its goal of protecting our nation’s grassroots venues from oblivion. God only knows what headlines we’ll be discussing this time next year. The best advice is


always to prepare for anything and everything to happen – just don’t expect any slow news days. See you in 2026!


George Garner, Editor-In-Chief george.garner@futurenet.com


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