Rajar press release from Global 28 Oct 2021
GLOBAL SURGES FORWARD AS THE UK’S NUMBER ONE COMMERCIAL RADIO COMPANY WITH ITS BEST-EVER AUDIENCE RESULTS
GLOBAL CONTINUES TO LEAD THE UK COMMERCIAL RADIO MARKET GROWING ITS AUDIENCE TO A RECORD-BREAKING 25.7m WEEKLY LISTENERS AND ITS SHARE TO 23.5%
GLOBAL HAS THE TOP FOUR COMMERCIAL RADIO BRANDS IN THE UK
HEART, CAPITAL, SMOOTH AND CLASSIC FM
HEART SCORES ITS BIGGEST EVER AUDIENCE OF 10m BREAKING A NEW RECORD
HEART IS UK’S TOP COMMERCIAL RADIO BRAND ADDING A MASSIVE 662,000 NEW LISTENERS
HEART BREAKFAST IS THE BIGGEST COMMERCIAL RADIO SHOW IN THE UK WITH 4.1m LISTENERS
LBC CELEBRATES AN ALL-TIME RECORD 3m WEEKLY LISTENERS
ITS HIGHEST EVER
LBC HOURS AND SHARE HIGHEST IN ITS 48-YEAR HISTORY
NICK FERRARI, JAMES O’BRIEN, SHELAGH FOGARTY AND EDDIE MAIR ALL CELEBRATE RECORD-BREAKING AUDIENCE FIGURES
LBC NEWS – BRITAIN’S FIRST NATIONAL ROLLING NEWS RADIO STATION NOW REACHES 806,000 LISTENERS ALONE
CAPITAL IS ONCE AGAIN THE UK’S NO.1 HIT MUSIC BRAND GROWING ITS REACH TO 7.6m WEEKLY LISTENERS
SMOOTH CELEBRATES ITS HIGHEST EVER AUDIENCE
5.9m WEEKLY LISTENERS
KATE GARRAWAY HAS RECORD-BREAKING 2.5m LISTENERS
RADIO X CELEBRATES ALL-TIME HIGH
1.9m LISTENERS
ADDING ALMOST 300,000
THE CHRIS MOYLES SHOW ON RADIO X SCORES A RECORD HIGH WITH 1.1M LISTENERS ADDING 120,000 NEW LISTENERS IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS
CLASSIC FM CELEBRATES A 14-YEAR HIGH FOR HOURS AND SHARE
NOW REACHING 5.1m WEEKLY LISTENERS
THE OFFICIAL BIG TOP 40
OFFICIALLY REMAINS THE UK’S BIGGEST CHART SHOW
GROWING ITS AUDIENCE TO 1.5m LISTENERS
NATIONALLY AT BREAKFAST…
GLOBAL
HAS THE TOP 2 COMMERCIAL NATIONAL BREAKFAST SHOWS IN THE UK
HEART BREAKFAST – 4.1M
CAPITAL BREAKFAST – 2.8M
HEART BREAKFAST WITH JAMIE THEAKSTON & AMANDA HOLDEN IS THE BIGGEST COMMERCIAL BREAKFAST SHOW IN THE UK WITH A MASSIVE 4.1m WEEKLY LISTENERS
CAPITAL BREAKFAST WITH ROMAN KEMP REACHES A MASSIVE 2.8m LISTENERS
RADIO X’S CHRIS MOYLES GROWS HIS BREAKFAST AUDIENCE TO A RECORD-BREAKING 1.1m WEEKLY LISTENERS
LBC BREAKFAST WITH NICK FERRARI ACHIEVES A RECORD 1.4m WEEKLY LISTENERS
IN LONDON…
GLOBAL HAS THE #1 & #2 COMMERCIAL STATIONS IN LONDON FOR REACH, HOURS AND SHARE
LBC REMAINS THE NO.1 COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION IN LONDON FOR SHARE & HOURS WITH AN 8.1% SHARE OF THE MARKET AND AN INCREDIBLE 17m HOURS
HEART IS LONDON’S UNDISPUTED NO.1 COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION 1.9m WEEKLY LISTENERS
ADDING A MASSIVE 500,000
SMOOTH HITS A NEW RECORD IN LONDON INCREASING ITS AUDIENCE BY ALMOST A THIRD
NOW REACHES MORE THAN 1 MILLION LISTENERS IN LONDON ALONE
LONDON BREAKFAST…
GLOBAL HAS THE #1 & #2 COMMERCIAL BREAKFAST SHOWS IN LONDON FOR REACH, HOURS AND SHARE
LBC’s NICK FERRARI AT BREAKFAST
WINS COMMERCIAL REACH, HOURS AND SHARE
NICK CELEBRATES HIGHEST EVER REACH WITH 837,000 WEEKLY LISTENERS IN LONDON
HEART BREAKFAST WITH JAMIE THEAKSTON & AMANDA HOLDEN IS LONDON’S BIGGEST COMMERCIAL MUSIC BREAKFAST SHOW
GLOBAL
- Global grows its audience with its radio brands now reaching a massive 25.7 million people every week through radio alone, with hours up 5% vs. Q1 2020 at 236 million hours, and taking a 23.5% market share.
- Global has the top four commercial radio brands in the UK for reach, hours and share in the UK with Heart, Capital, Smooth and Classic FM.
HEART
- Heart scores an all-time audience high, extending its reign as the UK’s biggest commercial radio brand with over 10m people tuning in every week, adding 662,000 new listeners.
- Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden has a massive 4.1 million weekly listeners and remains the UK’s biggest commercial breakfast show. Heart Breakfast is also London’s biggest commercial music breakfast show with 734,000 listeners.
- Digital station Heart 80s adds a massive 244,000 listeners reaching 1.5m weekly listeners. Heart 70s grows its audience to reach over 300,000 listeners.
- Heart Dance hits an audience all-time high with 464,000 listeners growing 84,000 listeners.
IN LONDON…
- LBC remains the no.1 commercial radio station for share and hours with 16.6 million hours an 8.1% share of the market.
- In the competitive commercial London market Heart takes the top spot for reach on 1.9m (up 38%) just pipping Capital on 1.8m (up 10.5%).
- Heart gains over 530,000 new listeners in London and grows in reach, hours and share.
LBC
- As the voice of the nation throughout the pandemic, more people are tuning into LBC – and for longer – than ever before, as the station celebrates its highest ever reach, hours and share.
- LBC now reaches a record 3.1 million listeners across the UK each week – the highest in its 48-year history – and an increase of 271,000 people in the past 18 months.
- In its second set of RAJAR results, LBC News – Britain’s first national rolling news radio station – reaches 806,000 weekly listeners.
- Nationally, LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, James O’Brien, Shelagh Fogarty and Eddie Mair all achieve record-breaking audience figures. Nick Ferrari and James O’Brien reach 1.4 million and 1.3 million weekly listeners respectively.
- In London, LBC is the no.1 commercial station for hours and share, with a massive 16.6 million hours and an 8.1% share of the market.
- Nick Ferrari at Breakfast is London’s number one commercial breakfast show for reach, hours and share, with 837,000 listeners tuning in each week.
CAPITAL
- Capital remains the UK’s No.1 Hit Music brand with 7.6m weekly listeners, nearly 3m listeners ahead of the Kiss brand nationally.
- In London, Capital grows its reach to 1.8m weekly listeners, also beating Radio 1.
- Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp reaches a massive 2.8m weekly listeners. Capital Breakfast - which was voted the best show on UK radio by the public last month at the TRIC Awards, with Roman Kemp also named the nation’s favourite radio personality – is the UK’s second biggest commercial breakfast show, second only to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden on Capital’s sister station.
CAPITAL XTRA
- Capital XTRA continues its reign as the home of RnB and Hip-Hop in the UK, now reaching 1.7m people across the UK every week
- Capital XTRA Breakfast with Yinka and Shayna Marie reaches 581,000 weekly listeners.
CAPITAL DANCE
- Capital Dance, the UK’s official dance station which launched in October 2020 with MistaJam at the helm and Rio Fredrika at breakfast, opens with 287,000 listeners tuning in every week.
SMOOTH
- Smooth confirms its position as the UK’s third largest commercial radio brand with a record-breaking 5.9 million people tuning in each week.
- The Smooth Radio network adds 712,000 listeners in the past 18 months, reaching 5.5 million weekly listeners.
- Smooth’s Kate Garraway celebrates a record-breaking 2.5 million listeners to her weekday mid-morning show.
CLASSIC FM
- Celebrating a 14-year high in hours and share, Classic FM confirms its position as the UK’s most popular classical music station, with 5.1 million listeners each week, tuning in for a total of 44 million hours.
- Alexander Armstrong’s morning programme reaches 2.4 million people every week.
RADIO X
- Radio X celebrates an all-time high, adding a massive 289,000 new listeners to reach 1.9m people and growing in reach, hours and share - its largest ever audience.
- The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X also hits an all-time high of 1.1m listeners for the first time, adding 120,000 new listeners in the 18 months, growing in reach, hours and share and leapfrogging Virgin Radio.
- At drive, Johnny Vaughan also smashes a new record with 854,000 listeners.
- In London, Radio X increases its reach to 559,000 listeners and grows in reach, hours and share.
GOLD
- Gold reaches an audience of more than 1.3 million listeners every week.
THE OFFICIAL BIG TOP 40
- The Official Big Top 40 officially remains the UK’s biggest chart show growing its audience to 1.5m listeners and ahead of the Radio 1 chart.
Ashley Tabor-King OBE, Founder & Executive President of Global, said: “Post pandemic, it’s fantastic to have RAJAR back with a bang. I’m delighted that Global, in some of the most challenging times ever, has scored record audience numbers, both overall and also for many of our individual brands and shows. It’s truly humbling and a testament to the hard work of every Globaller who has strived to keep our audiences informed and entertained with the best music and highest quality news and analysis. We not only continue to lead the commercial radio market, but have extended our lead with 25.7 million weekly listeners. To play this role in these times in an honour.”
James Rea, Director of Broadcasting & Content at Global, said: “Nothing beats the connection radio brings and it is fantastic to see its popularity continuing to grow. I’m immensely proud that so much of that increased listening is driven by the great work of our teams in growing Global’s brands. I’m delighted to see so many of our brands achieving record results – from Heart breaking through 10million, LBC truly Leading Britain’s Conversation and going over 3 million for the first time in its long and illustrious history to Chris Moyles smashing though 1 million and Kate Garraway seeing over 2.5 million tuning in over on Smooth.”
NEWS & PRESS
BBC Introducing launches in America
BBC Introducing in America will launch in Tennessee on Friday 5 December with a new show airing on the first Friday of every month. The new programme will see BBC Introducing join forces with college radio shows, piloting in Tennessee, to...more
Reservoir announces publishing deal with female-led disco-soul band Say She She
Reservoir Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSVR), an award-winning independent music company, today announced a global publishing deal with Nya Gazelle Brown, Sabrina Cunningham, and Piya Malik, who together comprise Brooklyn-based band Say She She. The deal includes each member of the band’s...more
Distiller Music Publishing and Alternative Songs announce joint venture co-signing of Poppy Baskcomb to worldwide publishing deal
Distiller Music Publishing and Alternative Songs today announce a joint venture co-signing of acclaimed songwriter and artist Poppy Baskcomb to a worldwide publishing agreement. The news arrives as singer-songwriter Poppy Baskcomb celebrates her debut UK Top 40 singles chart hit...more
Sony Music Publishing Signs Global Deal with Rising Star Sienna Spiro
Sony Music Publishing today announced the signing of breakthrough singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro to a global publishing agreement. With a timeless sound, captivating vocals and a gift for cinematic storytelling, Sienna has already made a remarkable impact across the music scene. At...more
Brogeal & Eve Goodman revealed as Scottish & Welsh Ambassadors for the 2026 edition of Independent Venue Week
Falkirk five-piece Brògeal and rising folk singer Eve Goodman will join Nova Twins as artist ambassadors for the 2026 edition of Independent Venue Week. The much-loved nationwide event returns on Monday 26th January, with hundreds of authentic, independently-owned venues around the...more
From Tickets to Takeoff: Gig-Tripping Made Seamless with viagogo and Booking.com
viagogo, the leading global secondary ticketing marketplace, today announced a new partnership with Booking.com, one of the world’s largest travel platforms, to make event-going even more seamless. Through the industry-first partnership, fans purchasing tickets on viagogo can now easily add...more
The Great Escape conference announces collaborators and themes for 20th anniversary edition in 2026
The Great Escape's UK-leading conference is pleased to announce its brand new line-up of industry collaborators and the themes they will delve into at its 20th anniversary edition - from the live industry to artist careers and the next generation...more
Nominees revealed for 2026 BRITs Critics' Choice
SUPPORTED BY BBC RADIO 1 JACOB ALONROSE GRAYSIENNA SPIRO SHORTLIST CONTINUES TO ACT AS A BAROMETER FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF BRITISH TALENTWINNER ANNOUNCED IN JANUARY THE BRIT AWARDS 2026 WITH MASTERCARDSATURDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2026 AT CO-OP LIVE, MANCHESTER ON ITV The BRIT Awards 2026...more
Scheme supporting BRIT and Mercury Prize-winning artists begins new funding round
£1.6 million Music Export Growth Scheme to support UK artists to go global opens up to applications Funding criteria strengthened and due diligence process beefed up to build on scheme's massive success Scheme has led to an estimated £73.5 million return to...more
Ivors Week returns for 2026 as The Ivors opens for entries and the Academy launches its second Summit
The sixth annual Ivors Week returns to celebrate and empower songwriters with industry events led by The Ivors Academy. The Ivors Academy Summit confirmed for 19 May at BFI IMAX, with exclusive early tickets now on sale. The Ivors with Amazon Music,...more
whynow Music Unveils Exclusive Mick Jagger & Kinks Christmas Merchandise Campaigns
Mick Jagger photographed by Denis O’Regan at Slane Castle, Ireland, just before going on stage – one of the limited-edition fine art Giclée prints available in this newly announced collection whynow Music has announced the launch of an exclusive range of...more
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life unveils 'A Sonic Adventure in Nepal 2026'
Following Sold-Out London Premiere of 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', a documentary of a previous Kilimanjaro expedition, led by electronic artist Nightmares On Wax Sign-up:https://www.thetribeexperience.world/nepal-2026 Dates: 16th - 29th November A global wave of female DJ submissions continues to surge as the charity...more
Twist Digital Entertainment Services Teams Up with Tuned Global to Supercharge Twist Music in MENA
Partnership to support Twist’s expansion into the UAE and Saudi Arabia Twist, a fast-growing digital entertainment platform in MENA, has renewed its partnership with Tuned Global, the leading B2B music technology platform, for another three years. This collaboration powers the next...more
Merlin and Singa Ink Partnership to Bring Thousands of Original Recordings to Karaoke
Merlin, the digital music licensing partner for the world’s leading independent labels and distributors, has partnered with Singa, the leading karaoke technology company, to make thousands of original master recordings available on the platform. This historic deal marks a major leap...more
The club is alive, as JLS joins The O2’s coveted 21 Club
The O2, the world’s most popular live entertainment arena, came alive with the sound of music over the weekend, as JLS returned to the venue for two incredible headline shows as part of their ‘The Club Is Alive: 2025 Hits...more
ESNS festival line-up complete for 40th Edition
ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) announces the final 41 artists from all over Europe that will be playing at Eurosonic and Noorderslag. The music showcase festival celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026, taking place from January 14 to 17 in Groningen. The...more
Stars join forces with creative and cultural organisations from across UK and Europe to remove barriers to touring and drive growth
Stars have joined forces with creative and cultural organisations from across the UK and Europe to remove barriers to touring, support cultural exchange and drive growth. They unveiled a major new alliance today called the Cultural Exchange Coalition (CEC). Its members...more
Wise Music Group strikes deal with GoGo Penguin
The Manchester-based trio GoGo Penguin have signed an exclusive publishing deal with Campbell Connelly & Co, part of Wise Music Group. Their music blends breakbeats, minimalist piano, strong basslines, electronica-inspired drums, and anthemic riffs, with influences from trip-hop, jazz, rock,...more
Songtools announces strategic partnership and platform integration with ONErpm’s OFFstep
SongTools, the fast-growing platform empowering music creators with one-click marketing and ad tech solutions, is proud to announce a strategic partnership and full platform integration with OFFstep, ONErpm’s proprietary artist and label platform. Through this partnership, the SongTools integration has been...more
YouTube wraps its 20th anniversary year with a new feature announcement & 2025 trends
YouTube to Unveil Annual Trending Lists & Launch New Personalised 'YouTube Recap' Feature YouTube is announcing two major end-of-year moments to close out its 20th anniversary year. YouTube Recap is the first-ever personalised feature, which launches on Wednesday 3rd December alongside...more
Apple Music Replay ‘25: A More Personal Look at Your Year in Music
Apple Music and Shazam Also Reveal Their Year-End Charts Apple Music today released the highly anticipated Replay '25 experience, bringing listeners an even more personalised and insightful journey through their year in music. With new and deeper discovery insights, Replay '25...more
IFPI convenes cross industry panel at UN Copyright Agency to examine the future of music licensing with AI
With AI licensing agreements accelerating and reshaping the music industry's relationship with generative AI, IFPI is bringing experts spanning music, AI and economics together to discuss AI training and music rights: with a focus on the report on copyright and...more
Independent music labels return a third of revenue to artists, reveals new report from ORCA
Global think tank and advocacy group, the Organization for Recorded Culture and Arts (ORCA), has released a first-of-its-kind report analysing the economic investments and social impact of nine leading independent record labels. Analysis shows these labels invested $134 million in artists...more
Industry survey reveals 97% of music professionals demand AI transparency, while half refuse AI-generated music entirely
Survey of 144 music supervisors, filmmakers, and advertisers by leading music companies found: 97% want to know if music is AI-generated, 49% will only work with human-made tracks, and cultural authenticity becomes a critical selection factor. Download the full report: https://cyanite.ai/cyanite-marmoset-mediatracks-survey/ As...more
CISAC launches new ISWC IPI Context Search to help music publishers solve metadata challenges
The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has launched ISWC IPI Context Search, a new API service designed to help music publishers quickly and accurately identify creator Interested Party Information (IPI) numbers, a crucial step in ensuring correct work...more
Your 2025 Delivered on Amazon Music is here: See top streaming insights from this year
See your year in music, podcasts, and audiobooks come alive in a festival-themed recap with personalized virtual festival poster. Key takeaways 2025 Delivered transforms your streaming history on Amazon Music into personalized insights. The feature also creates a virtual music festival poster with...more
Key Production Group, Europe's leading physical music and packaging agency, reveals its predictions for vinyl and physical music releases in 2026
Over recent years, there has been a clear resurgence in the joy of owning physical music. Fans continue to buy vinyl and CDs, so they can take them home, listen to them and take pleasure in owning them. This flourishing...more
Pubs, Clubs and Venues in UK Cities Slammed by Hidden Business Rates Bombshell Says NTIA
Night-time economy businesses across the UK are facing a devastating financial blow from April 2026, as government business rates reforms quietly abolish the 40% Hospitality, Leisure and Night-Time Relief (RHL) and replace it with a system that will force many...more
Inaugural Folk Album Of The Year Award Shortlist Revealed
146 album submissions received Nine albums selected by jury of performers, music and media professionals Winner revealed and nominees to perform at live finale hosted in Rochdale, Greater Manchester on 17 March 2026 The Folk Album of the Year Award has revealed its...more
International music conference FFWD (FastForward) returns to London in February 2026 for FFWD>>LDN 26
International music conference FFWD (FastForward) returns to London in February 2026 for FFWD>>LDN 26 - celebrating its community in a special 10th anniversary edition, at a brand new location. Taking over Hackney Church for the first time on Tuesday 10 February...more
THE HEADLINES
IMPF says members should reject AI deals that do not value songs properly (see News)
Which songs do we replay the most? (see Analysis)
Spotify Wrapped 2025 goes live (see Digital)
Daddy Yankee files lawsuit against former manager and third parties for alleged royalty scheme (see News)
EU touring: Impact of Brexit worsening, says UK Music report (see Reports)
ORCA released a report analysing the economic investments and social impact of nine leading independent record labels (see Reports)
Jorja Smith’s label requests share of royalties from ‘AI-cloned’ song (see News)
A creative nation is a thriving nation (see Opinion)
Australian report also highlights how other non-US English-speaking countries are hit by algorithms (see Reports)
AI slop: Spotify, Tunecore, and credibility (see Comment)
Warner Music signs deal with Suno, settles lawsuit (see News)
EC sends UMG its statement of objections to Downtown acquisition (see News)
20 years of Spotify — who’s winning, losing and making money? (see Features)