Industry leaders call for backing for Our BBC Our Music campaign: “We cannot solely provide goodwill in order to secure the beauty of music”

UK Music has launched the ‘Our BBC: Our Music’ campaign, which works to protect the BBC’s government funding and enable it to continue creating opportunities for emerging talent across the country.

Speaking in Parliament last night (Monday October 19), MPs, industry leaders and artists opened up about the importance of securing the funding, and argued that in “these very challenging times” we “simply can’t lose our creative ambition”.

READ MORE: UK grassroots venues suffering from “the complete collapse of touring” – here’s how you can help The campaign comes in response to the two-year Royal Charter Review laid out by the UK Government, which analyses the BBC’s funding model ahead of a new charter being granted in 2027.

However, due to ongoing financial pressures – which have so far resulted in a 10 per cent cut in its workforce – key figures from the music industry have come forward to highlight the impact the BBC has on the wider music ecosystem, and push for ministers to invest proportionately.

View this post on Instagram At the event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Music in Westminster, Director of Music at the BBC Lorna Clarke, highlighted how the British music sector contributes £8billion into the UK’s economy, and is responsible for 220,000 jobs – and shared that the BBC’s efforts alone account for a good portion of that.

“Our activity across the UK generates income, and contributes millions to the created economy,” she explained, addressing an audience that included Elbow ’s Guy Garvey , and BBC radio presenters Nick Grimshaw , Greg James and Jo Whiley.

“For example, when Radio 1 bring their [Big Weekend] event to town, it matters.

Dundee and Scotland was significant , and when independently measured, stimulated growth of £3.7million.” Incredible performances in Parliament for the star-studded launch of our 'Our BBC: Our Music' campaign.

Thank you to @The_Anchoress , @imogen_theknife and @ShekuKM for their phenomenal sets. pic.twitter.com/cD6XGHQzpz — UK Music (@UK_Music) October 19, 2026 Clarke went on to share that Radio 2’s “number of commissions won and produced by independent companies has doubled from 22 per cent to 42 per cent in less than 10 years” and creates wider recognition for talent outside of London.

She also highlighted the efforts of the station to highlight emerging talent, and said that the “number of different pieces of music played across BBC music in seven days. is what our competitors play in 365 days”.

She continued: “We simply can’t lose our creative ambition… Radio 1 still reaches 8million people every week.

But with scale comes responsibility.

We take our public purpose to offer value to everyone incredibly seriously.