UK recorded music exports rose to £800.3 million (USD $1.05 billion) in 2025.
But the rate of growth slowed, rising just 0.8% year-over-year.
According to the BPI, the trade body for the UK’s record labels, it was the first time the annual total had surpassed £800 million.
The figure marked a 50% increase on the £533 million ($684 million) recorded in 2020, when the BPI began tracking export value.
The US was the UK’s biggest export market, contributing around 40% of the annual total, followed by Germany, France, Australia and Canada.
In total, 67 British artists each generated more than 1 billion audio streams globally during 2025, according to Luminate.
Coldplay were the most-streamed UK act worldwide last year, followed by Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Arctic Monkeys and Calvin Harris.
The BPI attributed the slowdown to intensifying competition, both from established markets such as the US and Canada and from faster-growing territories including South Korea and markets across Asia and Latin America.
It said the full impact of a new wave of British talent – including Olivia Dean, Lola Young, YUNGBLUD, PinkPantheress and Sleep Token – is likely to show up more strongly in 2026’s figures.
“What was notable about last year’s record-breaking recorded music export figures was not just the contribution of a new generation of UK stars, but also the long journey they often had to undertake to build and connect with audiences.”
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI
“What was notable about last year’s record-breaking recorded music export figures was not just the contribution of a new generation of UK stars, but also the long journey they often had to undertake to build and connect with audiences,” said Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive.
“It is harder than ever to break an artist internationally, and it now takes longer for the mainstream to embrace new artists. While these figures are impressive, the slowing rate of growth highlights the need for continued international trade and export initiatives like the Music Export Growth Scheme, and for a supportive business environment in the UK to enable label businesses to continue to invest in British talent.”
The BPI pointed to data from Spotify showing that more than 75% of the revenue generated by UK artists on its platform in 2025 came from outside the country.
Olivia Dean offered one of the clearest examples of the new wave.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Man I Need became Dean’s first Top 10 entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, weeks after her second album, The Art of Loving, entered the Billboard 200 at No.8.
The album reached a US peak of No.3 in January. In Australia, Man I Need topped the ARIA Singles Chart from November 2025 and spent 21 weeks at No.1 in total — the second-longest reign by any single in ARIA history, behind only Tones and I’s Dance Monkey.
The export figures land against a broader slowdown across the UK market.
UK music streaming subscription revenues grew by 3.2% in 2025, their slowest annual increase in five years and a rate that matched UK inflation over the same period.
The BPI has set a target of £1 billion ($1.32 billion) in recorded music exports by 2030.
The BPI has repeatedly linked that goal to government support.
Earlier this month, the UK government unveiled a music strategy titled Turn It Up: Our Plan for Music, alongside a £15 million ($19.8 million) injection into its Music Growth Package that took the fund to £45 million ($59.3 million) over three years.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy launched the plan on July 13, and the government named former UK Music CEO Michael Dugher as its first Music Champion.
The BPI welcomed the plan, with Twist saying it “rightly recognizes our industry as a priority sector.”
The BPI will deliver a £4.8 million ($6.3 million) Music Export Growth Scheme within that package.
MEGS is jointly funded by the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the music industry, and provides grants to small and medium-sized independent UK companies building their artists’ profiles overseas.
Its latest round, announced in March, distributed £1.4 million ($1.8 million) among 68 artists.
Across 24 rounds, the scheme has invested more than £9.2 million ($12.1 million) in British music, which the BPI says has generated an estimated £81.5 million ($107 million) return to the UK economy – close to 14 times the government funding it received.
The UK is the world’s third-largest recorded music market, and its music industry contributed a record £8 billion ($10.2 billion) to the economy in 2024, according to UK Music.
With the momentum behind acts such as Olivia Dean carrying into 2026, the BPI expects the year’s export figures to reflect the new wave more fully.
GBP-to-USD conversions use the IRS yearly average exchange rate for the year each figure refers to: 2020 (£1 = $1.284), 2023 (£1 = $1.244), 2024 (£1 = $1.277) and 2025 (£1 = $1.318). The 2026 funding figures and the 2030 export target are converted at the 2025 rate.Music Business Worldwide
