THE BIG STORY
Young blood: UK talent competes with US superstars for global streams
With Lola Young, Charli XCX, Myles Smith and more leading the charge, Music Week investigates the strength of British exports so far this year
— BY ANDRE PAINE — B
ritish breakthrough artists are making a global streaming impact this year – but they face intense competition from US stars and international acts. Lola Young continues to fly the flag around the world with Messy, while Myles Smith, Central Cee and Charli XCX are building on global success they achieved in 2024. Based on Music Week analysis of Spotify’s Global Charts, UK artists are establishing a Top 100 presence with current single releases. But it is proving challenging to break into the Top 20. Concerns were raised after UK talent was absent from the Spotify Wrapped Top 10 results for 2024. US superstars continue to dominate the DSP’s rankings this year. As Music Week went to press, Lola Young was the only UK act to have made Spotify’s Top 10 so far this year with Messy peaking at No.7 during its six-month run.
“I would simply say that Lola is the reason for the enduring success of Messy globally,” said Nickie Owen, president, international marketing at Universal Music. “Her authenticity as an artist has enabled her to connect and speak to fans around the world – and if you combine that with her work ethic then you get the level of results we’ve seen on Messy.” Owen highlighted Young’s promotional push in France in the run-up to her European tour’s Paris launch in February. “This work resulted in Messy being No.1 on the French airplay chart for 11 weeks, which is exceptional in a market dominated by domestic music at radio,” said Owen. Results in the US, including on the Hot 100, have also been strong. Young made her debut appearance at Coachella in April. “In the US, where Lola has really invested her time and energy, we’ve seen Messy hit No.1 across three airplay charts,” said Owen. “This is just the second song by a solo woman to have a No.1 on pop radio, adult pop radio and alternative airplay in nearly 30 years.”
Young will visit Latin America for the first time this year. “Lola is also travelling into new markets, which gives us even more opportunities to expand her audience and build her globally,” added Owen.
Young has over a billion combined streams on Spotify alone for Messy and her feature on Like Him by Tyler, The Creator. The last British artist to go higher on Spotify’s Global Chart with a non-catalogue track was Charli XCX (and Billie Eilish) with Guess in August 2024. For a UK-only non-catalogue track in the Top 10, you need to go back to Artemas in June 2024 with I Like The Way You Kiss Me, which peaked at No.1. As well as ongoing success for Brat, Charli XCX has seen catalogue track Party 4 U enter Spotify’s Global Top 50. “The foundation for Charli’s continued streaming success is having such an amazingly strong album in Brat and exceptional back catalogue, coupled with consistently brilliant creative output,” said Atlantic co-president Ed Howard. Fellow Atlantic artist Ed Sheeran cracked the Top 50 with Azizam, the lead single from upcoming album Play.
06 | Music Week
“Our ambitions for the track are that it sticks around and beds in throughout the whole summer, and that people continue to fall in love with it and recognise what an unusual and brilliant artistic statement it is,” said Howard. Along with catalogue by Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and more, there has been a presence in 2025 on Spotify’s Global Top 100 for new and recent hits by Chrystal, Central Cee, Artemas and Myles Smith, who peaked at No.16 with Stargazing last year. “Hits rely on the quality of songwriting first and foremost and Myles wrote an incredible song,” said RCA co-president Stacey Tang. “Stargazing has topped airplay charts worldwide.” As well as acknowledging the promotional effort that has gone into the campaign, Tang said that Smith has “toured his heart out” with four months on the road so far this year playing sold-out shows including in North America and Australia. “That live experience has been such an important exchange between Myles and his fans,” she added. “It’s delivered positive new memories for all, and the foundations of those memories are based in engagement with music.”
RCA has also made a global impact with UK metal act Sleep Token, including a No.1 album in the US with Even In Arcadia. Sleep Token secured two Top 100 entries in the Spotify Global tracks chart. Meanwhile, the album is one of three Top 10 entries in the Spotify LP Global rankings by UK acts so far this year, along with Central Cee and Ed Sheeran. “Even In Arcadia has delivered the biggest streaming numbers for a record in its genre in both the UK and the USA,” said Tang. “That’s a huge result and Sleep Token deserve recognition as well as massive congratulations for it. It’s been a pleasure to be part of such a creatively exciting campaign. Great music has no geographical borders.”
While there have been encouraging results, it remains to be seen how UK artists fare in the year-end rankings. As things stand, Coldplay are the only UK act to have made Spotify’s weekly Top 20 of the biggest acts on the platform in 2025. The absence of British talent from 2024’s Spotify Wrapped was raised by Featured Artists Coalition CEO David Martin during a Parliamentary Committee hearing last month. While stressing that success can be defined by various metrics, Martin told Music Week that Spotify’s rankings “often indicate the overall health of the UK’s wider music industry”. “We can’t rely on our illustrious history,” he said. “Especially when the dynamics of streaming have ramped up global competition. We see first-hand that the talent and artistry is abundant in the UK, but we need to ensure we create an environment that allows it to thrive at the level it should.” For Britain’s current top streaming export, Lola Young, the focus is shifting to new material.
“We’ve seen from the start of [new single] One Thing that the international appetite for Lola Young is higher than ever and we’re extremely excited for her global journey to continue building on the incredible results of Messy,” said Owen.
musicweek.com
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