news
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Across the global music industry, conversations about representation and equity have become impossible to ignore. Recently we explored these questions through a number of lenses, from Linda Coogan Byrne’s newly released book Why Not Her?, A Manifesto For Culture Change, which examines the dismal disparities across radio play and festival line-ups in the UK and…
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February Signals: A Bigger Music Industry, and a More Exposed One By the time March arrived, February had already left a clear set of fingerprints across the music industry in the UK, Ireland and Europe. It was a month that celebrated scale, spectacle and global reach. It was also a month that quietly exposed the…
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Our Rating 7/10 Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon doesn’t rap like he’s trying to impress you. He raps like he already knows he can. As of Now is long, loose, and deliberately personality-driven. It opens with humour. Not throwaway humour. Sharp, slightly absurd, meme-aware humour that immediately establishes tone. He understands the internet age of rap, but…
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The UK government has formally launched the review of the BBC’s Royal Charter, the constitutional framework that sets the broadcaster’s mission, governance, public purposes and funding model. The current Charter expires at the end of 2027. The next Charter will define the BBC’s direction from January 2028 onwards. This is not routine administration but a…
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If you are a working musician in the UK or Ireland, Feb 2026 is shaping up to be a period of serious structural funding rather than symbolic gestures. Here’s what’s live, confirmed or opening soon. 🇮🇪 Ireland: Structural Support Expands Ireland has confirmed that the Basic Income for the Arts scheme will continue from 2026…
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Our Rating: Nostalgia I have always considered Daft Punk to be one of the rare acts who understood mythology as well as melody. Their split five years ago felt less like a breakup and more like the end of a chapter in modern electronic folklore. They exited quietly, deliberately, without reunion bait or nostalgia merch…
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The UK grassroots music landscape is not just under strain — it’s structurally fragile. The Music Venue Trust’s 2025 Annual Report reveals troubling facts that should alarm anyone invested in the future of live music. The charity reports that over half (53%) of grassroots venues made no profit in 2025, with a shock 6,000 jobs…
The Industry Review 