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Paul McCartney will contribute a ‘silent’ track to a compilation album that is protesting the U.K. government’s recent changes to copyright law.
The LP Is This What We Want? was first released digitally in February and was co-signed by over a thousand U.K. artists. The LP runs for 47 minutes, and features the silence of an empty recording studio in order to highlight the need for human musicians in the age of artificial intelligence. The album’s track listing spells out the message: “The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies.”
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Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, Billy Ocean, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, and more were all credited as ‘co-writers’ of the LP. Upon release, it reached No. 38 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart.
McCartney’s contribution will appear as a bonus track to the physical edition of the LP, which will be released on Dec. 8 via record label The state51 Conspiracy. The vinyl is available for pre-order here, with all profits from sales to be donated to the musicians’ charity Help Musicians.
It’s not the first time that McCartney has protested against the U.K. government’s controversial approach to copyright law in the era of artificial intelligence. In May, McCartney was among 400 British musicians alongside Elton John, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay, to sign an open letter calling on U.K. prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to update copyright laws to protect their work from AI training models. They were backed by industry heavyweights Sir Lucian Grainge (Universal Music Group CEO), Jason Iley MBE (Sony Music UK CEO), and Dickon Stainer (Universal Music UK CEO) who also signed the letter.
The U.K. government proposed an ‘opt out’ approach for rightsholders in relation to their work being used to train artificial intelligence models. Critics say that the burden should not fall on artists to approve or deny tech companies the use their material, and that ‘opt out’ models are unenforceable.
During the summer, the U.K. government was involved in a ‘ping pong’ debacle whereby amendments to the Data (Use and Access) Bill proposed by the House of Lords were rejected five times. The amendments would have given rightsholders visibility over when their work was being used against their wishes by AI companies. The bill eventually passed and received Royal Assent in late June, and is expected to be be phased into law by mid-2026.
Ed Newton-Rex, the organizer of the album, said: “The government must commit to not handing the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies for free. Doing so would be hugely damaging to our world-leading creative industries, and is totally unnecessary, only benefiting overseas tech giants. It should listen to Paul McCartney and the 1,000 other musicians who took part in this album, and resist calls to legalize music theft from the big tech lobby.”
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Yungblud is taking a break from the road for the remainder of 2025.
On Saturday (Nov. 15), the 28-year-old British singer took to social media to announce that his doctor has ordered him to cancel all of his concerts for the rest of the year.
“This week when I got home off the road, and went to have some tests done (like I usually do) and my voice and blood tests have raised some concerns,” Yungblud wrote on his Instagram Story. “It is in my nature to run and run until I run myself into the ground without giving a f—k about anything apart from the music and you guys but this time I’ve been told I have to take it seriously and can’t f—k around.”
The canceled shows from his Idols World Tour include stops in Philadelphia (Nov. 19), Cleveland (Nov. 23), and Washington, D.C. (Nov. 25–26), as well as dates in Mexico City and other locations across Latin America.
Yungblud noted that all U.S. tickets will be refunded, and fans who provide an address will receive “a gift.”
“My heart is broken,” the Doncaster-born musician added. “I don’t want (to) do any lasting damage to myself, we are on a journey that I want to last forever. I understand that some of you will be frustrated. I just want you to know this is so hard for me to do but I promise I will make it up to you.”
The cancellations come roughly two months after Yungblud released his collaboration with Aerosmith, “My Only Angel,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart in September. The track will appear on a five-song collaborative EP, One More Time, set to drop on Nov. 21. The project marks Aerosmith’s first new material since their 2012 album, Music From Another Dimension!
Yungblud released his fourth studio album, Idols, in June, which topped the U.K. Albums Chart and reached No. 15 on the Billboard‘s Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart.
As of press time, Yungblud was still planning to resume his Idols tour in January 2026 with an Australian leg, followed by a U.K. run in April. He will then embark on a North American amphitheater tour next summer.
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Olivia Dean’s baby steps have turned into a sprint. After opening up for Sabrina Carpenter on the final leg of the Short n’ Sweet Tour, Dean announced her first-ever headlining North American arena tour on Friday (Nov. 14).
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The Art of Loving tour is slated for next summer, kicking off in San Francisco on July 10. The singer will also head to Los Angeles, New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Atlanta, Toronto, Las Vegas, Boston, Houston and wrap up in Austin on Aug. 28.
Those who register with Olivia Dean’s mailing list will have access to the pre-sale, which is set to begin at 10 a.m. local time next Tuesday (Nov. 18) on Ticketmaster. The general public will have their chance when tickets go on sale next Friday (Nov. 21).
The “Man I Need” artist is donating $1 of every ticket sale to support communities in Jamaica impacted by Hurricane Melissa.
“The art of loving in the usa / canada 2026 these are venues i have only dreamt of playing. see you next year lovers,” she wrote on Instagram .”Ok love you bye!”
Olivia Dean has gained a ton of crossover momentum while breaking through in the U.S. over the last couple of months. The 26-year-old boasts four songs on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, including the top 5 hit “Man I Need.” Dean’s The Art of Loving album also sits at No. 7 on the current Billboard 200.
Find all of The Art of Loving 2026 tour dates below.
The Art of Loving Live Tour Dates:July 10, 2026 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Chase CenterJuly 14, 2026 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Crypto.com ArenaJuly 18, 2026 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ MGM Grand Garden ArenaJuly 22, 2026 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Maverick CenterJuly 25, 2026 – Denver, Co. @ Ball ArenaJuly 29, 2026 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Target CenterAug. 4, 2026 – Toronto, Ontario @ Scotiabank ArenaAug. 7, 2026 – Montreal, QC @ Bell CentreAug. 10, 2026 – Boston, Mass. @ TD GardenAug. 12, 2026 – Baltimore, Md. @ CFG Bank ArenaAug. 14, 2026 – New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square GardenAug. 22, 2026 – Atlanta, Ga. @ State Farm ArenaAug. 25, 2026 – Houston, Texas @ Toyota CenterAug. 28, 2026 – Austin, Texas @ Moody Center
Trending on Billboard Taylor Swift has regained the top spots on both the U.K.’s Official Albums and Singles Chart in a stunning comeback for The Life of a Showgirl and its lead single “The Fate of Ophelia” on Friday (Nov. 14). The LP and its lead single first shot to No. 1 on the U.K. […]
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After a meteoric rise, and a years-long break to recalibrate and recover, Lewis Capaldi is very much back. Surviving, thriving.
Today, Nov. 14, the Scottish singer and songwriter returns with the four-track Survive EP, led by the title track, a song that addresses his ordeals with illness and life in the spotlight.
Survive is the followup to the 2023 LP Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, which was sent to No. 1 in the U.K. for three weeks and spawned three U.K. chart-leading singles in “Pointless,” “Wish You The Best” and “Forget Me”.
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Capaldi’s debut album from 2019, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, propelled him to superstar status. Along the way, it collected 10 weeks at No. 1 in the U.K., where it was confirmed as the biggest selling U.K album for both 2019 and 2020, and yielded “Someone You Loved,” a No. 1 smash on both sides of the Atlantic, and around the globe.
In November 2022, Lewis was crowned by the Official Charts Company as the “king of streaming” as “Someone You Loved had overtaken Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” as the U.K.’s most streamed song in history.
It hasn’t all been fun and games.
The following year welcomed the global Netflix release of Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now, a Grammy Award-nominated documentary, and saw Capaldi step away from the spotlight to focus on his physical and mental health. He made a roaring return with a surprise set at Glastonbury Festival 2025, followed by the release of “Survive.”
With his comeback, he “wanted to have a song come out that wasn’t… a lot of my music is woe is me, and a bit boo-hoo, and sad,” he told ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos in July. “I wanted something that was less pathetic. Let’s put it that way. I wanted to have something that was more triumphant than previous offerings. This one is about getting through stuff, surviving.”
Expect to hear the new song, and those modern-day classics, when he makes the long haul for arena shows in New Zealand later this month, and early December, his first visit to Australasia since Falls Festival in 2019/20, and his Auckland Town Hall performance in 2019. Australia dates will follow, all of which are sold out.
Stream Survive below.
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Four of the U.K.’s leading artists are among those coming together to call on the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to honour a pledge to protect fans from online ticket scalpers, also known as touts.
Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead and Sam Fender are all signatories to a joint statement published Thursday (Nov. 13), in which artists, managers and fan groups are asking Starmer to commit to resale price cap legislation in the U.K.
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In its manifesto for the 2024 general election, the Labour Party proposed policies for new consumer protections on ticket resales. This evolved into an industry consultation in January, which invited views from venues, promoters, fans and other parties on a resale price cap, considering options from face value to a 30% uplift.
On Oct. 5, seven months after the consultation closed, the U.K.’s culture minister, Ian Murray, confirmed that the current Labour government would press ahead with plans for a price cap on resale tickets — but the specifics of these plans have yet to be revealed.
Now, dozens of industry figures are calling for the Prime Minister to make the commitment to price cap legislation in the next King’s Speech, which is set to take place next spring.
In the statement, the coalition says new protections are needed to “help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre and sports they love.”
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It adds: “For too long certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing fans to either pay above the odds or miss out entirely. This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable. Introducing a cap will restore faith in the ticketing system, help democratise public access to the arts in line with the Government’s agenda and make it easier for fans to spot illegal behaviour, such as ticketing fraud.”
Alongside the aforementioned names, the list of signatories includes The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey, alt-J, Aluna Francis, Bastille, Ben Howard, Brix Smith, Mogwai, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Nubiyan Twist. (View the full list below.)
With the statement on Thursday, the group of signatories joins consumer choice organisation Which?, the FanFair Alliance, O2 and the Football Supporters’ Association, along with organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers and ticket retailers, among others.
The statement arrives alongside a new investigation from Which?, which outlines the global touting operations targeting the U.K.’s ticketing industry. The group identified prolific scalpers in locations including Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain and the United States, all of whom were bulk-buying tickets for live music and sporting events in the U.K. before relisting them at inflated prices on platforms such as StubHub and Viagogo.
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Examples of this practice included tickets for Oasis’ Wembley Stadium shows, which were listed for prices as high as £3,498.85 ($4,594.04) on StubHub and £4,442 ($5832.41) on Viagogo. Another finding showed that a seat for the recent Minnesota Vikings vs. Cleveland Browns NFL clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was listed for £3,568.39 ($4685.35) on StubHub.
Elsewhere, Which? also found multiple cases of speculative selling, which is when tickets are listed on secondary sites for double the price — even though the seller has not bought them yet.
In a press release, Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at Which?, said: “Today’s joint statement makes clear that artists, fan organisations and consumers reject the broken ticketing market that has allowed touts to thrive for too long. The Prime Minister pledged to protect fans and a price cap on resold tickets will be a critical step towards fixing this industry, but he must commit to this legislation by including it in the next King’s Speech.”
Webb concluded: “Further reforms are also needed to ensure sellers actually own the tickets they advertise before listing them, that resale platforms ensure the identities of sellers and key information about a ticket are verified and that the new rules are effectively enforced.”
Artist signatories: Alfa Mist, alt-J, Aluna Francis, Amy Macdonald, Andro, Bastille, Ben Howard, Brix Smith, Charlotte OC, Coldplay, Dana Margolin (Porridge Radio), Dua Lipa, Graeme Park, Howard Jones, Idlewild, Iron Maiden, Johnny Marr, Keane, Kelli-Leigh, Low Island, Mark Knopfler, Mogwai, New Order, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nick Mason, Nubiyan Twist, Orlando Higginbottom, PJ Harvey, Quantic, Radiohead, Revenge of Calculon, Robert Mitchell, Robert Smith (The Cure), Sam Fender, SNAYX, Sweetie Irie, The New Eves, Travis.
Organisations: Fan Fair Alliance, Featured Artists Coalition, Football Supporters Association, LIVE, Music Managers’ Forum, Music Venue Trust, Musicians’ Union, O2, Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR), UK Music, Which?.
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LONDON — Blockbuster tours by the likes of Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Take That and Liam Gallagher contributed a record total of 8 billion pounds ($10.5 billion) to the United Kingdom’s economy in 2024.
The figure is up 5% from the previous year, according to the newly released This Is Music study from UK Music, the umbrella organization encompassing a range of bodies including the BPI and collection society PRS For Music.
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The results are being heralded as a huge success, with 2025 likely to bring a bumper uptick in the trend, thanks in part to headline-dominating stadium tours from the likes of Oasis, Coldplay, and Dua Lipa, plus U.K. arena residencies from pop heavyweights Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and more.
Published annually, the latest edition of This is Music takes a deep dive into how the U.K. music business fared both at home and on the world stage. It outlines employment stats, international music sales, plus gross revenue through ticket sales, tourism and more in order to paint a full picture of the industry’s contribution to the country’s overall GDP.
A strong appetite for British artists and songs helped push a notable increase in export figures in 2024. Charli XCX’s Brat LP – which saw her enjoy a global breakthrough and scoop eight Grammy nominations – thrived overseas, while Lola Young landed a chart smash in “Messy,” both contributing to a 5% rise to 4.8 billion pounds ($6.3 billion).
Employment also lifted by 2%, with a net total of 4,000 new jobs in the U.K. taking the number of people working in the music industry to 220,000 (full-time equivalent posts), reports UK Music. The breakdown of that figure, however, shows that a significant portion of these people are vulnerable to the cost of living. 43% of respondents earned less than 14,000 pounds ($18,400) from music, forcing them to turn to other jobs in order to make a stable income.
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Elsewhere, U.K. artist royalties surpassed a billion for the first time, with PRS for Music paying out a record 1.02 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) to its members – an 8.1% increase on last year.
“The UK music industry remains one of our greatest international success stories,” said the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, in a statement. “Every year, we see more new artists from Britain becoming global stars, and our existing world-famous musicians reaching new heights, all of them adding to the incredible heritage of creativity, talent and genius that has defined UK music throughout our history.”
Despite these fiscal wins, however, the report warned that the U.K. music industry still faces a number of tough challenges. There are potential risks posed by generative AI on music creation, which could erode employability across the sector, as more sophisticated tools emerge and pose a new rival for listener attention.
Another area where UK Music said urgent action was needed was further government support for the grassroots touring sector. In a survey conducted between March 20 and June 12, 2025, UK Music spoke to 1306 music creators, including songwriters, musicians, DJs and producers, and found that many emerging artists were finding it increasingly difficult to play live at this level, with income from touring not keeping pace with costs.
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95% of these respondents reported decreased earnings as a direct consequence of Brexit, up 8% from 2023, due to increasing touring costs and a subsequent impact on royalties as their music is performed less in Europe. As a result, UK Music called for an agreement between the UK and EU to lift visa and work permit requirements across EU borders.
“The status quo on these two big issues is currently tilted against music’s interests, with new survey data on both AI and EU touring evidencing why we need the balance to swing back in our favour,” said Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music. He also urged the government to take “urgent action” in the key areas addressed in a bid to boost growth, exports and jobs in the U.K. music industry.
Elsewhere, the rate of economic growth in the music industry slowed, with Gross Value Added up by five per cent in 2024. This is lower than the double-digit growth seen over the past few years as the industry recovered from the pandemic.
The report cited ongoing threats to grassroots venues and a lack of big-ticket releases by British artists in 2024 as contributing factors to this figure.
“In recent years UK Music has reported that the music industry has enjoyed double-digit annual growth. That growth has now halved indicates a levelling off of the immediate post-pandemic boost that we experienced, as well as other underlying issues set out in this report,” said Kiehl.
He went on to describe how he remains hopeful that the U.K. music industry can overcome the challenges it faces during this “pivotal moment.” He added: “Let’s come together to make sure we realise our full potential.”
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Atlantic Music Group (AMG) has tapped A&R veteran Jeremy Vuernick as its next executive vice president.In the new role, Vuernick will report jointly to AMG CEO Elliot Grainge and Atlantic U.K. co-presidents Ed Howard and Briony Turner, overseeing the AMG roster to sign and develop new artists with global potential. He will be based in London.
The announcement follows the recent promotion of Howard and Turner to AMG’s global leadership team, a move the label has said was “designed to create tighter collaboration across the two territories, and to generate greater global impact for Atlantic’s world-class roster”.
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In the past year, Atlantic has enjoyed transatlantic success for U.S. breakthrough artists such as Alex Warren, Teddy Swims, and Benson Boone, as well as British firebrand Charli XCX.
Vuernick brings with him two decades of experience in the music industry, largely in the A&R sector. He joined Capitol’s Astralwerks imprint in 2013, serving in senior capacities at the label before being promoted to executive president of A&R at Capitol Music Group (CMG) in 2019, where he oversaw the company’s portfolio of labels.
Prior to his tenure with Astralwerks, Vuernick held senior roles at independent label Ultra Music, overseeing A&R, marketing, and sales. More recently, in 2024, Vuernick founded the Los Angeles-based independent company Queens Road Music in partnership with Atlantic.
The U.K. has long been one of the most influential markets in the world and a cultural leader in developing and exporting exceptional global talent,” said Vuernick in a press release.
“With Elliot cementing the natural relationship between the U.K. and US, and Ed and Briony leading the charge as two of the best creative leaders in the business, our combined force will take Atlantic and its artists to a new level of recognition and success.”
Grainge added: “I have worked with Jeremy for a number of years and I’m excited to officially welcome him into the AMG family. He comes to us with outstanding experience, instincts, and passion for artists, so he’ll be an ace addition to our newly aligned teams.
“Under the expert leadership of Ed and Briony, Atlantic UK has been a formidable source of chart-topping, game-changing artistry. With Jeremy now based in London, we are continuing to build our bridge across the ocean, ramping up our collective A&R and cultural firepower.”
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Long live CMAT summer. The Irish pop star has been revealed as the latest headliner for the 2026 edition of London’s Lido Festival, performing on June 12.
The booking marks the Irish pop star’s first-ever U.K. festival headline slot. It follows a stellar year that has seen her cross over into the mainstream and deliver much talked-about performances at high-profile events including Glastonbury, All Points East and Green Man.
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She will be joined by a stacked bill of artists on the day, with supports including Father John Misty and Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory. The other names confirmed to appear so far are: Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Elizabeth Copeland, Getdown Services, Katy J Pearson, Junior Brother, Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle and Zakia (DJ).
Tickets for the event, which will take place in Victoria Park, go on sale on Thursday (Nov. 13) at 10 a.m. (BST). More information can be found at the festival’s official website.
In August, CMAT (born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) unveiled her third studio album EURO-COUNTRY via AWAL. Upon release, the record hit No. 2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, her highest placing on the chart to date.
The continued success of EURO-COUNTRY has also seen the songwriter land a Mercury Prize 2025 nomination, as well embark on sold-out tours across the U.K. and the U.S. The LP follows 2023’s Crazymad For Me and her debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, released the year prior.
The inaugural Lido festival took place this year, welcoming 35,000 fans a night with Charli xcx, Jamie xx, Massive Attack and London Grammar all topping the bill across two weeks of shows.
Named after Victoria Park’s Lido Field, the event has a strong focus on sustainability and holds community events during the week. Its second iteration will also include electronic duo Maribou State, who are headlining the festival on June 20.
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Beyond the critical acclaim and handy sales boost, the U.K.’s Mercury Prize comes with an added bonus: a £25,000 ($32,000) cash prize for the chosen artist. For some previous winners – like Alt-J (2012) and Antony and The Johnsons (2015) – the money has covered the expenses of being a touring act, while Badly Drawn Boy (2000) infamously threw the cheque away in the heat of the winning moment (his cash prize was ultimately honored).
Now Sam Fender has joined a number of past winners by making a statement and donating the entirety of the cash prize to charity. The Music Venue Trust, a charity that supports grassroots music spaces and the scene as a whole, will be the beneficiary of Fender’s generosity. Fender joins previous winners such as Ms. Dynamite (2002) and M People (1994) who have made public that they donated their cash winnings to causes close to their hearts.
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Fender was awarded the Mercury Prize, an annual prize for an outstanding LP by a British or Irish artist, in his hometown Newcastle upon Tyne, England (Oct. 16). His third studio album People Watching saw off competition from Fontaines D.C., Pulp, FKA twigs, PinkPantheress and more at the ceremony which was held outside of London for the first time in its history.
People Watching remains the fastest-selling British album of 2025, and on Saturday (Nov. 15) a live concert film shot at his 80,000-capacity London Stadium show will be broadcast on YouTube. A deluxe edition of the album features collaborations with Olivia Dean and Elton John, and is set for release on Dec. 5.
The Music Venue Trust works to protect and secure the future of grassroots venues across the country. In 2024 a report by the charity shared that grassroots music venues operated on a profit margin of just 0.48%, with 43.8% of them reporting a loss. In 2024 alone, 25 music venues closed in the U.K. due to rising costs for venues and changing consumer habits.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today if it wasn’t for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out,” Fender said about the reasons for the donation. “These venues are legendary, but they are struggling.”
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Fender has worked previously with the MVT, most recently donating £100,000 from his 2024 U.K. arena tour via a voluntary £1 ticket levy. He joins acts such as Katy Perry, The Last Dinner Party and Enter Shikari in making the commitment; Coldplay pledged 10% of all revenue from the U.K. leg of the Music of The Spheres tour to the MVT.
Mark Davyd, chief executive and founder of the Music Venue Trust, said, “This is an incredible gesture by Sam, demonstrating once again that artists absolutely understand how vital grassroots music venues are to their careers and to their communities. We are honored to accept this donation and will ensure every penny of it makes a direct difference to the campaign to keep live music at the heart of our towns and cities.”
