- Welcome to the 2024 Year In Review special! Throughout our pages over the past 12 months, Music Week has covered the top stories that have defined the music business’ action-packed year, one that has proved itself to be the UK industry’s busiest in recent history. And to kick off our epic review of it, we gather over 120 top names from across the entire business, including Universal Music UK’s Dickon Stainer, Warner Music UK’s Tony Harlow, BBC’s Lorna Clarke, Columbia’s Dipesh Parmar, CAA’s Emma Banks, MOBO’s Kanya King and many, many more, to offer up their reflections, memories and opinions on moments from the year and to reveal the records they had on repeat throughout it.
- Also inside: Beatles icon Ringo Starr meets up with Music Week ahead of the release of his first album since 2019, Look Up. The living legend himself is joined by co-writer T Bone Burnett and his teams at UMG Nashville and Decca, to go deep on how the record came to life, talk AI and the Beatles’ Now And Then, and to reflect on how this new LP signals his return to country music as a solo artist.
- Elsewhere in the issue, we present three of the biggest breakthrough stories the UK has seen this year. We speak to Island EMI Label Group president Louis Bloom about The Last Dinner Party’s debut album and global impact, BRITs Rising Star and BBC Introducing Artist Of The Year Myles Smith about his journey so far, and finally, we catch up with Grammy-nominated artist Jordan Adetunji on his viral hit Kehlani and the importance of building a discography.
- For this month’s Digital Discourse, Deviate Digital CEO Sammy Andrews shares the top 10 digital debates that have defined 2024, from AI to ticketing to the rise of the superfan, while elsewhere our expert columnist and Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd guides us through the highs and lows the grassroots sector has faced this year.
- Plus! Our Big Story sees Music Week examine the key chart trends that have defined 2024, from Taylor Swift’s record-breaking sales and Sabrina Carpenter’s 21-week streak at No.1 to the biggest breakthroughs. In the final Hitmakers of 2024, we meet up with renowned hitmaker Dan Nigro to explore the inner workings of Chappell Roan’s breakout smash Good Luck, Babe! and, in Aftershow, Manic Street Preacher’s James Dean Bradfield looks ahead to the band’s new album Critical Thinking. There’s all of that and much, much more!
