Global success enjoyed by the likes of Central Cee, Charli xcx and Dua Lipa helped lift British music exports to a record high of £794 million ($1.72 billion) in 2024, according to new figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The London-based trade body says last year’s total is the highest since it began analyzing labels’ overseas income in 2000, and that it’s more than triple the £243 million ($328 million) from 2013. The result also means that the U.K. remains the world’s second biggest exporter of music, making up around 8% to 9% of global streams, says the BPI.

Driving last year’s stats was a combination of established, globally successful British artists and a new generation of homegrown talent making waves on the world stage. In total, around 600 artists accumulated more than 100 million global streams throughout 2024, including high-charting releases from Central Cee, Charli xcx and Dua Lipa, alongside platinum singles for Myles Smith (“Stargazing”) and Good Neighbours (“Home”).

Data by Luminate shows that the list of top revenue-generating artists also includes contemporary himakers Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and Sam Smith, as well as icons who first rose to prominence in the 1970s, such as Queen and Elton John. 

Consumption of British music increased in all but one of the main global regions in 2024, says BPI. This trend was led by an incrase of 29% in the Middle East and 12% in Africa. North America and Europe remained the biggest regions for export.

The BPI attributes many of these major gains to British record labels’ long-term investment in new talent and established acts. The organization reports that between 2020-2024, label businesses invested more than £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in artist A&R and marketing.

The rate of growth is declining, however. The BPI reports that income from the sales and streams of British music overseas increased by just 1.9% in 2024, compared to 7.6% in 2023 and 20% in 2022. In previous years, the consumption of British music globally was bolstered by extensive album and touring campaigns from superstars including Styles and Lewis Capaldi. Last year, however, no British artists ranked among the 20 most-streamed artists globally, according to the IFPI.

BPI chief executive Dr Jo Twist said in a statement: “It’s brilliant to see British artists, backed by their labels, continue to shine on the world stage, including a new generation of talent such as Charli XCX, Lola Young, and Myles Smith, among others. Their emergence shows we are on the cusp of future success.”

In her statement, Twist also stressed the importance of raising awareness around the government’s potential future approach to generative artificial intelligence training, as well as highlighting the need for further conversation around music education in the U.K.

Twist continued: “If we are to realise this potential in an increasingly competitive global market and keep British music a headline act, we need the right environment where the industry comes together to deliver growth to the UK. We have a Government that values not just the cultural power of British music but also the foundations of its success: creative arts education, labels that are supported and encouraged to invest in talent, successful programmes like the Music Export Growth Scheme, and a gold standard copyright framework that safeguards creativity and rewards human artistry.”

Ten years on from the release of his acclaimed seventh album, Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens has offered a surprising re-evaluation of the record.

Originally released in March 2015, Carrie & Lowell was Stevens’ first studio album since 2010’s The Age of Adz, and would ultimately peak at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, while topping the Independent and Folk Albums charts, and hitting No. 2 on the Top Alternative and Rock Albums.

Despite the highs of its success, the record was steeped in sadness and misery, with much of its musical and lyrical content being inspired by the 2012 passing of his estranged mother Carrie, and the relationship with his stepfather, Lowell Brams.

As part of the record’s anniversary reissue, Stevens has collected a batch of demos to accompany its release, pairing it all with an in-depth essay that sees him ruminating on the album’s recording process and his thoughts behind it all.

Speaking to NPR ahead of the reissue’s arrival this week, Stevens used the opportunity to share a harsh reassessment of the original album, going so far as to label it “evidence of creative and artistic failure from my vantage point.”

“I was trying to make sense of something that is senseless,” he explained. “I felt that I was being manipulative and self-centered and solipsistic and self-loathing, and that the approach that I had taken to my work, which is to kind of create beauty from chaos, was failing me. It was very frustrating. And for the first time I realized that not everything can be sublimated into art, that some things just remain unsolvable, or insoluble. I think I was really just frustrated by even trying to make sense of the experience of grief through the songs.”

Describing the recording process as “painful, humiliating, and an utter miscarriage of bad intentions” in his essay, Stevens doubles down on his stance, focusing on his mother’s inability to add her own voice into the record’s somewhat voyeuristic narrative.

“I’m kind of embarrassed by this album, to be honest with you,” he explains. “Because I sort of feel like I don’t have any authority over my mother and her life or experience or her death. All I have is speculation and my imagination and my own misery, and in trying to make sense of it all, I kind of felt like it didn’t really resolve anything.”

Continuing his retrospective look back at the record, Stevens is also asked whether he regrets having made the record. “Yeah, I do. I feel bad,” he explains. “It’s just a bummer that my mother’s not alive and can’t speak for herself. What would she say about all this? Maybe she would be proud. I’ll never know.”

The forthcoming anniversary edition of Carrie & Lowell also includes a demo version of the track “Mystery of Love,” of which a studio version would later appear on the soundtrack to Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, ultimately scoring a nomination for best original song at the 2018 Academy Awards, and best song written for visual media at the 2019 Grammys.

Legendary rockers Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, master jazz artist Herbie Hancock and conductor/soprano and contemporary classical musician Barbara Hannigan received their Polar Music Prize awards from the hands of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in the Vinterträdgården room of Stockholm’s elegant Grand Hôtel on Tuesday (May 27).

The 500-plus-person audience, made up of Swedish royalty, music industry players (artists, songwriters, publishers, execs and more) and friends and family of the laureates, rose to its feet many times during the six-hour event, as each of the laureates delivered heartfelt speeches. Hannigan thanked her mentors with a special mention for her (five minutes older) twin brother Brian; Hancock spoke of his father’s support for his musical career even though he wanted his son to be an engineer; and May also talked about his late father Harold, who helped him build his original Red Special electric guitar (also known as the “Old Lady”), which May owns to this day.

The event began with a royal ceremony, in the presence of not just the King but several members of Sweden’s Royal Family, followed by a multi-course banquet. The laureates were serenaded during both halves of the Polar Music Prive evening by a number of Swedish and international musicians playing music written by or performed by the three musical icons during their careers.

Jazz vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding and pianist/producer Robert Glasper got an ovation for their rendition of the Hancock composition “Trust Me,” and returned to the stage to perform Hancock’s seminal “Watermelon Man.” Spalding then teamed with Argentinian pianist Leo Genovese for a stunning performance of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” in honor of Hancock’s 2007 album River: The Joni Letters. That tribute album to Mitchell won the Grammy for album of the year in 2008. The audience did not wait for that performance to end to give it a standing ovation.

Similar ovations showed the attendees’ love for Adam Lambert’s versions of Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever” at the ceremony and “Another One Bites the Dust” at the banquet, as May and Taylor looked on approvingly.

The biggest ovation of the night went to Sweden’s Ghost, who recently topped the Billboard 200 with their album Skeletá. Frontman Tobias Forge donned a golden mask and was accompanied by Swedish heavy metal guitarist Fredrik Åkesson and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, singing a cappella from a balcony high above the banquet tables, for a tour-de-force on “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

As the evening was coming to a close, Marie Ledin, managing director of the Polar Music Prize and daughter of the award’s founder, ABBA manager Stig “Stikkan” Anderson, received an overwhelming response from the banquet guests as she thanked her father as well as her mother Gudrun, the Royal Family, the laureates and the entire assembled audience.

Ledin spoke about each of the laureates in turn: “Let me begin with Queen – this much-loved band are truly rock royalty! As a big fan myself, I’ve been lucky enough to have seen them in concert several times here in Stockholm. They taught me that music can be bold, dramatic, fascinating and fun.

“Herbie Hancock is a true musical pioneer and one of the most influential musicians of our time. He has taught us that music can challenge us intellectually even as it enriches our soul. Herbie has deservedly earned the admiration of musicians across all genres.

“Barbara Hannigan is a visionary soprano and conductor, and a passionate advocate for contemporary music. With her avant-garde experimentation, she proves that classical music does not have to live in the past, but is a living, breathing art form in itself.”

The 2025 laureates were also honored by the presence of three previous laureates, Max Martin (2016), Anne-Sophie Mutter (2019) and Nile Rodgers (2024).

One more special guest was Anita Dobson, who was in attendance with her husband Brian May. Dobson is having an especially great week, as she has guest starred on every episode of the current season of the BBC’s Doctor Who and will play a large part in the season finale on Saturday (May 31), though she wouldn’t reveal any details about the conclusion of her story arc to Billboard (as she shouldn’t).

The Polar Music Prize was first awarded in 1992, to Paul McCartney and the Baltic States, newly independent from the former Soviet Union. Since then, the prestige of the prize has only grown, with awards going to artists from all over the world. A partial list includes Elton John, Ravi Shankar, Metallica, Ennio Morricone, Led Zeppelin, Renée Fleming, Grandmaster Flash, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Isaac Stern, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Sonny Rollins, Diane Warren, Gilberto Gil, B.B. King, Emmylou Harris, Yo-Yo Ma, Miriam Makeba, Björk, Wayne Shorter, Patti Smith, Dizzy Gillespie, Chris Blackwell, Iggy Pop, Angélique Kidjo, the Kronos Quartet, Youssou N’Dour and Chuck Berry.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

America’s Got Talent‘s 20th season has arrived!

The live talent show premieres on NBC starting Tuesday (May 27). Judges Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara and Simon Cowell are returning to the table to assess a new slew of performers, ranging from singers, daredevils, comedians and more. Mel B will joinin the judge’s panel this season, following a six-year hiatus from the show. Terry Crews returns as host. Each week, viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite acts, with results airing on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET.

Talent of all ages enter the competition as they vie for the championship title, $1 million prize and a Las Vegas residency. Those with cable TV can watch the show on NBC, which will vary depending on your TV provider.

If you’ve unplugged your cable and are looking for the best streaming options, you can still catch all the action through DirecTV’s promotion going on with Peacock. Currently, when you subscribe to DirecTV Stream, you can get Peacock Premium for $2 off a month.

If you subscribe to DirecTV Stream now, you’ll also receive $10 off the first three months taking the monthly $74.99 down to $64.99/month. Since Peacock is considered an add-on, you’ll need to go to your account settings, find premium channels and add Peacock. It’ll automatically add the deal to your bill so instead of paying an additional $4.99/month for Peacock Premium, you’ll pay $2.99/month.

With your subscription you’ll not only be able to catch AGT’s season 18 premiere, but you’ll have access to over 30 regional sports networks, unlimited hours of cloud DVR space, unlimited simultaneous DVR recordings, the ability to stream on as many devices as you want and access to ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and PBS.

Your Peacock subscription also means you can watch some of the hottest TV shows and movies including Yellowstone, the Vanderpump Rules reunion, the Indy 500, The Voice, Praise This, Poker Face, Love Island, Angelyne, The Office, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, A.P Bio, American Ninja Warrior, M3gan, Baking It, Below Deck: Down Under and more.

Season 20 of AGT will premiere Tuesday (May 27) at 8/7c. on NBC.

Check out the latest trailer for the new season below.

Fresh off the back of revealing their first round of performing artists, SXSW Sydney has detailed the first wave of music speakers for its 2025 event.

Taking place in Sydney from October 13-19, the third outing of the Australian event will feature “some of the world’s best thinkers, buyers and culture-makers,” as per a press release. 

Leading the charge of their first speaker announcement is Emmy Award-winning Jen Malone, who is best-known as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand music supervisors thanks to her credits such as Euphoria, Wednesday, Mr & Mrs Smith and more. 

Malone is joined by Dr. Marcus Collins, who is renowned as an Award-winning marketing professor, cultural translator and best-selling author, having also previously served as the former director of digital strategy for Beyoncé.

A number of international figures have been confirmed for the first round of speakers, including Senior Director of A&R at All Flowers international label Group, Alex Berenson; Rareform’s Hallie Anderson; tech entrepreneur Andrew Batey; and Brian Hobbs, the Director of Music Festival Programming at SXSW.

Other international names added to the first round include Founder of Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival Justin Sweeting (Hong Kong); Apodaca Group and Pal Norte Festival’s Macarena González (Mexico); Meng Ru Kuok CEO of Caldecott Music Group (Singapore); Sally Dunstone, Agent/Partner from Primary Talent (UK); and Lucy Atkinson, Senior Agent at ATC Live (MØ, Erika De Casier) (UK).

A strong contingent of local names are also on the schedule for this year, including John Watson, President of Eleven Music and John Watson Management; music industry consultant Jono Harrison; and host of Airing Your Dirty Laundry podcast, Daphne Berry.

“SXSW Sydney is about big ideas, bold conversations and unexpected connections,” said SXSW Sydney’s Head of Music, Claire Collins. “It’s a chance to hear directly from the people who open doors — the buyers, curators and deal-makers — and to better understand how to cut through, stay independent, or scale globally. 

“Whether you’re building a team, exploring how AI can support your creative and business goals, or just looking for inspiration from other creative industries, this is where the conversations start.

“We’re proud to bring this talent to Sydney, and to connect them with the broader SXSW Sydney community,” Collins added. “It’s a week packed with fun, discovery, and opportunities to connect, collaborate, and imagine what’s next for music in our region and around the world.”

The first round of music speakers joins a solid selection of performers which have already been confirmed for the 2025 edition of SXSW Sydney, including Australian acts such as Swapmeet, RICEWINE, and Jamaica Moana, alongside names from Ireland, Thailand, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.K.

Further speakers and performers are expected to be announced in the coming months, with more than 300 international and domestic artist performances set to feature on the final schedule.