Why Is the U.K. Struggling to Break New Pop Acts?

Earlier this month, an alarming stat sent a shudder through the U.K. music industry. When the Official Singles Charts announced the biggest songs of the year so far in the country, only four of the top 20 were by British artists: Artemas (“I Like The Way You Kiss Me”), Cassö (“Prada” featuring Raye and D-Block Europe), Sophie Ellis-Bextor (“Murder On The Dance Floor”) and Natasha Bedingfield (“Unwritten”), the latter two enjoying a boost from film syncs in Saltburn and Anyone But You, respectively.

It was a chilling omen nonetheless. Where are the breakout stars from the U.K., and how will they get onto the international stage?

2024 has proved a particularly tough one for U.K. artists: no single from a British artist has hit No. 1 on the charts. The last was by Wham! for the seasonal hit “Last Christmas;” before that, it was the Beatles with the AI-assisted single “Now and Then.” In 2022, the top 10 songs in the U.K. were all made by homegrown artists like Ed Sheeran, Sam Fender and Kate Bush. Now, questions are being asked about the success of U.K. artists on a global scale — particularly pop — and why the landscape is not particularly rosy. 

The U.K. appears to be in an era of importing music. Alongside stalwarts like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, new names like Noah Kahan, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Tate McRae and Shaboozey have flourished in a way that local talent has not. Annabella Coldrick, CEO of the Music Managers Forum, says that strong performances on the U.K. Charts can be key milestones for acts as they head to international markets. “If we’re not even dominating the charts in our own market,” Coldrick says, “then who follows?”

So how can the U.K.’s emerging artists keep pace? Competing with the resources and spending that the major labels can unlock in the U.S .market is an uphill battle, but music journalist Alim Kheraj suggests it runs deeper than that: “The U.K. [industry] has been so focused on hip-hop and singer-songwriters for a while now, so perhaps that’s why there’s been fewer pop stars transferring to the global stage.” There’s been international success for Artemas and Myles Smith, whose single “Stargazing” blazed onto the Hot 100 earlier this year, and other British artists like dance act Fred Again… and rapper Central Cee, but few in the more traditional pop sphere.

Coldrick says that we could see a change in the majors’ involvement with supporting new talent. “Maybe there’s a world in which the catalog labels become entirely separate from investment in new music,” she says. “That might be a good thing as it’s a different kind of investment business.” Following the announcement that resources at several labels at Universal Music would be merged, there are fears that non-priority artists will fall even further down the chain given their return on investment compared to catalog hits.

There are a myriad of issues that touring U.K. musicians face in 2024. Production costs and visa fees have risen substantially and the after-effects of Brexit have meant that touring EU countries is less profitable. “We’ve got very little government investment and a hostile environment for touring,” Coldrick says. “Artists and managers will do anything to make things work as they’re innovative problem solvers, but that’s a huge burden for them.”

Coldrick also notes that the U.K. is lagging behind other markets’ approach to exporting music. She celebrates the success of regional music scenes, particularly in Latin American countries and Asia, but says that lack of a “joined-up” export program is holding back U.K. artists. Those schemes can help provide funds to cover tour and visa costs and provide practical advice.

In 2022, a report by UK Music said that the value of exporting British talent — led by Harry Styles and Glass Animals — generated £4 billion to the economy. The Music Export Growth Scheme, Coldrick notes, is relatively slight compared to initiatives by Australia and the Netherlands. “We’ve been putting barriers up,” she says. “We’ve rested on our laurels a little bit and always relied on our great heritage and history.”

Kheraj suggests that there needs to be a recalibration of what we consider a “breakout artist.”’” He notes that the forthcoming new album from breakout act Sabrina Carpenter will be her sixth and follows success in the Disney stable, as well as a recent support slot on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Similarly, buzzy new act Chappell Roan first signed with Atlantic in 2015 and released music consistently until her 2023 debut album. Charli XCX’s first megahits — “Boom Clap” and Iggy Azalea team-up “Fancy” — were released in 2014; a decade later, she’s a key endorsement for Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. presidential election and in the midst of a Brat Summer.

“Someone like Olivia Rodrigo was a star and had a hit right out the gate, but that is so rare these days for an artist to launch with that level of commercial success,” Kheraj says. “We should be looking at people who’ve been doing it for a while longer as it does take time.”

There is no shortage of talent. Earlier this month Griff, who first released music on Warner Music in 2019, shared her debut LP Vertigo and had the best-selling opening week for a debut album by a British female since Raye’s 2021 debut; in October she will support Carpenter on a run of U.S. tour dates. Kheraj points to the early success of Jade Thirlwall’s debut solo single “Angel of My Dreams” on the U.K. Singles Charts as a bright spot. “She gets all the cultural touch points, is a fan of that world and has already operated on a global stage,” he says of the Little Mix member. “I think we could see her cross over to ‘Main Pop Girl.’”

Other names have made solid starts in their careers domestically and overseas: Holly Humberstone, Olivia Dean, Maisie Peters, Cat Burns and FLO to name a few. With malleable genres disrupting the pure “pop” tag, indie artists like Rachel Chinouriri, Wet Leg and The Last Dinner Party could all scale up rapidly on the international stage. 

Perhaps 2024 will act as something of a recalibration for success in the pop world and beyond. There’s no denying that the U.K. has the right talent to succeed, it’s now a question of how to make the world hear it.

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