It's tougher than ever to predict what's next for the music business. To look ahead to 2025, Music Week gathers a host of the industry's leading names – including Golnar Khosrowshahi, David Gray, Michelle Escoffery, Darcus Beese, Laura Lukanz, Tom Lewis, Damian Christian and more – to ask what they're hoping the new year has in store...
GOLNAR KHOSROWSHAHI, RESERVOIR MEDIA
“I’d like the industry to reframe its thinking around AI. We keep asking if AI is going to replace the creator, but the question we should be asking is: How is it impacting the administrative components of our business and creating efficiencies that allow us to focus on higher value work?”
DAVID GRAY, UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP
“As hard as it is to do, more artist development. Give promising artists time to grow their audience, make their mistakes, write a ton of songs… If there is real talent, it is worth the wait.”
MICHELLE ESCOFFERY, IVORS ACADEMY TRUST
“I am truly excited about what is going to come out of the North East of England in 2025 and beyond. My hope is for the industry to proactively invest in bridging the gap between Greater London and the UK regions to engage in knowledge and talent exchange, and develop increased representation across the industry. This will create more opportunity and support for creatives and professionals, increasing our ability to export exceptional talent.”
DARCUS BEESE, DARCO ARTISTS PARTNERSHIPS
“That UK music begins to regain its cultural importance on the global stage.”
LAURA LUKANZ, AMAZON MUSIC
“It’s crucial that we see a collaborative effort from every part of the business and the government to provide British acts with the support and sustained investment they need to establish themselves as world-leading artists.”
DUKAGJIN LIPA, RADICAL MANAGEMENT
“I hope that there is more investment in artists as opposed to just songs. We want the characters, the stories, the live shows and the albums as well as the songs. Empowering artists to create long-form musical arrangements instead of just looking for that social media moment.”
KIM FRANKIEWICZ, CONCORD
“More UK acts breaking globally. It’s inspiring to see Charli XCX and Jacob Collier nominated at the Grammys!”
JEFF SMITH, BBC RADIO 2 & 6 MUSIC
“It would be great to see a renewed ambition for the mainstream success of British artists. Every year, Radio 2 plays well over 15,000 songs on daytime alone, many of which are from the UK, but there seems to be a lot of music from America flooding the market. This means we dig deep to find new UK names to support, as we did in 2024 with Jake Isaac, Brooke Combe, Mànran and many more. I hope that the stream of quality new UK acts flows even stronger in 2025.”
NUR OZDAMAR, YOUTUBE
"My hope for 2025 is new music and raw talent."
JOHN GIDDINGS, SOLO AGENCY
“There are a lot of hidden costs behind tickets that the general public don’t get to see, so I’d like to see lower VAT and to not charge premium rates on VIP packages. I think last year we scratched the surface on the topic of ticket costs, but I’d like to see a wider conversation that can help ticket buyers understand where their money is going when paying for live music events.”
CRISTINA BEDON, VEVO
“My biggest hope for the industry is that it continues breaking down barriers for artists from different markets and lesser-known genres. We’re already witnessing the rise of Afrobeats and regional Mexican music. I’d love to see this momentum extend across a wider range of genres. This would bring richer diversity to the industry.”
ALICE FROST, ADA
“More British independent artists in the charts.”
SHABS JOBANPUTRA, RELENTLESS
“That we make and export more of the great talent from the UK signed by domestic labels.”
DARI SAMUELS, BBC RADIO 1XTRA
“Bravery. I hope that artists and executives are inspired to make brave, creative choices.”
LIZ JEFFERY, SONY MUSIC UK
“That each and every one of us continues to play a role in making the music industry as inclusive and equitable as possible.”
TOM LEWIS, DECCA
"A new wave of UK-signed acts breaking across the world."
SAMANTHA MOY, BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC
“A shared commitment to supporting grassroots venues. Amazing work is being done by the Music Venue Trust, Independent Venue Week and LIVE. Props to Coldplay for raising much needed funding, too.”
ROBERTO NERI, IVORS ACADEMY
“My hope is that songwriters and their songs receive the respect, value and fair remuneration they deserve. Great songs are timeless, forming the foundation and heart of music, films, games, concerts and our culture.”
FLOWEROVLOVE, ARTIST
“My biggest hope for the music industry in 2025 is for Flowerovlove to get her flowers!”
CAIUS PAWSON, YOUNG
“We’ve become experts in harvesting without much thought about growing. We can monetise music, synchronise it, use it as content. We can sell endless tickets to stadiums and arenas. I hope we spend a little more time cultivating the cultures that develop the artists we love. Can we attend to the things that don’t immediately make money, but enrich us all?”
CAM PIA, BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC
“The work has started, but there’s still a long way to go in terms of inclusion, so I’d like to see much more platforming of diverse voices in key roles across the music industry.”
DAMIAN CHRISTIAN, ATLANTIC
“We have got to break more artists, and I have a feeling we will do!”
MOE BAH, 5K RECORDS & 2K MANAGEMENT
“Quality music coming to the forefront and the industry giving more time to artist development, especially in Black music.”
DOTTY, APPLE MUSIC
“I’m ready for dancehall to have a classic year. There have been glimpses from artists like Valiant, Skillibeng and Masicka, but I hope this swells into some undeniable momentum for one of Black music’s most exciting genres in 2025.”
KAREN EMANUEL, KEY PRODUCTION
“More non-binary people and women in senior positions. Change needs to happen from the top down across all sectors and leading women and non-binary people must be celebrated. My other big hope is the uptake on more sustainable options for physical manufacturing, which is more important than ever.”
AFRYEA HENRY-FONTAINE, THE BLACK MUSIC COALITION/THE DEBRIEF
"By prioritising artist development and creating an environment that truly supports and empowers musicians, the industry could unlock a new era of creativity, innovation and artistic fulfilment. This, in turn, could lead to a more diverse, vibrant, and artist-driven music landscape.”
JIM KING, AEG PRESENTS UK
“I hope the new government realises the economic and social value that our culture industries bring to the UK.”
SARAH SLATER, TICKETMASTER UK
“I hope the government enforces anti-bot laws, tackles ticket touts and cracks down on exploitative resale platforms. Despite our top-tier defences, which saw us block 172 million bots globally every day last year, bots still make it harder to deliver the best fan experience, which is what we’re here to do.”
ALASTAIR & BILLY WEBBER, THE OTHER SONGS
AW: “I hope a new concept gets introduced to protect a songwriter’s ‘first mechanical right’.”
BW: “With 120,000 songs released daily and that number growing with AI-generated music, I hope DSPs raise the minimum payout threshold to better direct royalties to emerging and dedicated artists.”
CHARLIE HEDGES, BBC RADIO 1
“That we keep supporting and pushing new and upcoming talent. It’s so important to not only push the familiar names, but also the unknowns – they’re our future!”
ANDREEA GLEESON, TUNECORE
“I hope to see the industry at large continue to evolve, recognise the contributions of independent artists, and make a greater effort to support them, especially the self-releasing artists who are building careers on their own.”
TOYIN MUSTAPHA, TIKTOK
“I’d love to see a return to more in-depth artist development. Seeing how many years all of the Best New Artist 2025 Grammy nominees had been active was a reminder that success doesn’t happen overnight. From a TikTok point of view, it showed how important it is for artists to use the platform to build a community.”
RICHARD DAVIES, TWICKETS
“That the Labour Party acts on its manifesto [pledge] and legislates for capped ticket resale [prices].”
CRAIG JENNINGS, RAW POWER
“That the industry finds the right solution on secondary ticketing without needing too much government intervention. Also, that artists start getting paid more reasonably from streaming, and more new acts emerge as potential festival headliners.”
ANNABELLA COLDRICK, MMF
“I hope that touring the US and EU gets easier. There is political commitment from the new government to tackle barriers and costs, but very little money to throw at it and it’s unclear how much political will there is in the EU and US to reduce costs for British artists. This doesn’t bode well for a UK music industry whose share of the global recorded music market is in relative decline.”
