Brits most proud of music among UK cultural ouputs

More than a quarter of Britons surveyed – 27 per cent – chose music as the cultural output for which the UK could be most proud, ahead of film & TV (19.3 per cent), sports (18.9 per cent), literature (15.6 per cent), theatre & dance (8.4 per cent), video games (5.5 per cent) and visual art (5.3 per cent).

The study of over 2,000 nationally-representative respondents was carried out by AudienceNet on behalf of BPI, the voice for the UK’s record companies and label businesses.

People were asked to respond to a series of statements about British music:

• Around three-quarters (74.7 per cent) felt British music was a source of national pride
• A similar number (73.9 per cent) believed that music made by British artists helped to improve the UK’s reputation abroad.
• Just under two-thirds (66.5 per cent) said they liked to listen to and support British artists when they could.
• Some 63.1 per cent agreed the UK punched above its weight in terms of global music access.
• Some 67.9 per cent of those identified as music listeners agreed the UK government should do more to support homegrown music.

The research forms part of All About The Music 2026, the 47th edition of the BPI’s authoritative music industry yearbook, alongside a wealth of other music industry trends, stats, artist case studies, and research.

The yearbook’s focus on UK music in the global market also reveals the presence of a number of rising domestic stars among the UK’s most-streamed artists around the world last year.

These included Olivia Dean, whose hit Man I Need achieved the highest number of on-demand audio streams of any 2025-released British track globally last year, according to data from Luminate. Two other Olivia Dean tracks made the Top 10 – with the rest of the chart featuring a mix of established artists such as Calvin Harris and Ed Sheeran and more recent global breakthroughs, including Fred Again, PinkPantheress and RAYE.

Top 10 2025-released tracks globally by UK artists– © Luminate

Pos.      Artist & Title                                                                                        

1. Olivia Dean – Man I Need
2. Ed Sheeran – Azizam
3. Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
4. RAYE – Where Is My Husband!
5. Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas – Blessings
6. Olivia Dean – So Easy (To Fall In Love)
7. Olivia Dean – Nice To Each Other
8. PinkPantheress – Illegal
9. Drake & Central Cee – Which One
10. Fred Again, Skepta &PlaqueBoyMax – Victory Lap

BPI’s analysis of Luminate data in the yearbook reveals Coldplay generated the most on-demand audio streams among UK artists around the world in 2025. Ed Sheeran was runner-up, followed by Dua Lipa, Arctic Monkeys and Calvin Harris. UK artists in the wider Top 20 included Adele, Central Cee, Charli xcx, Harry Styles, Oasis and Olivia Dean, as well as legendary British music acts such as The Beatles, Elton John and Queen.

More on UK Music website.