By Thomas Smith and Thom Duffy
For the first time, Billboard has expanded its signature editorial franchise recognizing industry leaders to the United Kingdom.
The inaugural U.K. Power Players list includes executives — nominated by their peers and companies and chosen by Billboard’s editors — from selected sectors of the industry: major music groups, labels and distributors, managers, music publishers, streaming companies, the live business, agencies, rights organizations and associations.
The list recognizes executives who have helped the United Kingdom maintain its standing as the third-largest music market in the world, as ranked by recorded-music revenue, according to global music trade group IFPI.
The launch of the U.K. Power Players list continues Billboard’s decades-long commitment to covering the British music industry. (The magazine reported on the arrival of its new European GM to his London office in May 1963.)
This list comes in the wake of success by British and Irish artists who have commanded a place on Billboard’s 2024 year-end top artists chart — including Hozier, Dua Lipa, Charli xcx, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran (as well as Elton John and the catalog of Queen).
The U.K. Power Players list debuts at a time when the fight for further global success by U.K. acts is truly on. Consider these achievements from just the opening months of 2025: Lola Young’s “Messy” earned a month-long stay at No. 1 on the United Kingdom’s Official Singles Chart; Sam Fender’s People Watching scooped the best opening-week sales for a British solo act since Harry Styles in 2022; Central Cee’s Can’t Rush Greatness set a new high for U.K. rap on the Billboard 200; Charli xcx owned Coachella; and Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism tour began its global run. The year’s live slate on these shores includes shows by Oasis, Beyoncé and many more.
These success stories populate this inaugural list. The arrival of the U.K. Power Players list follows Billboard’s recent publication of its complementary Global Power Players list. And it will be followed by an event recognizing honorees from both lists during the inaugural SXSW London taking place June 2-7. (Billboard and SXSW share ownership under Penske Media Corp.)
Notably, the U.K Power Players list also recognizes the executives and companies seeking to make the industry a fairer place for artists, protecting their intellectual rights amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and supporting the grassroots scenes and venues that make future superstars. Much work is still to be done, but these executives are rising to the challenge.