A record 21.6m people watched the Glastonbury Festival on BBC TV with Elton John attracting a TV audience of 7.3m viewers.

John’s set resulted in a surge in streaming at Spotify as his tracks increased 294% in the U.K. in the hour after his set.

Arctic Monkeys also set a record result for a Friday night headline set with a peak audience of 2.6m and an average of 1.5m on BBC One. On Saturday, Guns N’ Roses’ headlining set peaked at 2.1m viewers on BBC Two while Lewis Capaldi and Lizzo peaked at 2.4m and averaged 2.3m viewers on BBC One.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens had the biggest BBC Two audience this year, peaking on Sunday at 3m and averaging 2.3m. Rick Astley and Blondie, on BBC One, had a peak audience of 2.5m and an average of 2.1m.

Ratings for the 40 hours of programming were up 7% over last year. Viewership numbers are expected to rise as more than 90 sets from the festival are available on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer.

Tom Grennan’s third studio LP, What Ifs & Maybes (Insanity), becomes his second #1 album on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart while Dave & Central Cee post a third week at #1 at singles.

What Ifs & Maybes is also the biggest seller of the week in the U.K.’s independent record shops. Grennan’s latest single, “How Does It Feel,” rockets 27 places to #31.

Right behind him, Queens of the Stone Age register their sixth Top 10 album, In Times New Roman…(Matador), coming in at #2. The Pet Shop Boys’ SMASH: The Singles 1985-2020 (Parlophone) lands at #4—it’s their 18^th Top 10 album— and Far From Saints’ eponymous Ignition debut opens at #5.

Texas, who play Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage today (6/23), hit #6 with The Very Best Of—1989-2023 ([PIAS]). At #9 is Gunna’s A Gift & A Curse (Young Stoner Life/300), his third U.K. Top 10 set.

ATEEZ become only the second male K-Pop band to secure a UK Top 10 album as THE WORLD EP.2: OUTLAW (KQ/RCA) opens at #10. (BTS was first, of course). Ben Howard’s Is It? (Island) debuts at #17, becoming his fifth Top 40 album. The second studio album from Nigerian singer-songwriter Asake, Work of Art (YBNL/Empire), is #20.

Taylor Swift announced U.K. tour stops in 2024 this week so naturally several of her albums rose up the chart. She has five records in the Top 40: Midnights (EMI), a non-mover at #8, followed by 2014’s 1989 at #19, 2019 set Lover at #21, 2017’s Reputation at #32 and 2020’s folklore at #33. “Cruel Summer,” officially released as a single, returns to the Official Singles Chart at #28.

Topping the singles chart is Dave & Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Live Yours/Neighbourhood), which racked up more than 9m streams this week, fending off competition from J Hus and Drake’s “Who Told You” (Black Butter/OVO/Republic) at #2 and Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding’s “Miracle” (Columbia), #3. The duo’s “UK Rap” also moves up the Official Singles Chart today, claiming a new peak of #13.

Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam” (BMG) a hits new peak of #8, and Scottish DJ Hannah Laing and singer RoRo earn their first-ever U.K. Top 10 as viral banger “Good Love” (Polydor) climbs four to #9.

Former Little Mix-er Leigh-Anne has the week’s highest new entry as her debut solo single “Don’t Say Love” (Warner) opens at #11. Another big debut comes from South Korean DJ, singer and producer Peggy Gou whose “(It Goes Like) Nanana” (XL) enters the chart at #14.

Harry Styles’ current U.K. tour is having an effect at singles: “As It Was” (Columbia) returns to #5; “Satellite” makes its Top 20 debut at #18; and “Late Night Talking” is also back on the rise, coming in at #22.

Tom Grennan leads the race for #1 on the Official Albums Chart with What Ifs & Maybes (Insanity), while at singles, Little Mix star Leigh-Anne looks set to be this week’s highest new entry.

The Bedford-born singer-songwriter looks set to score his second chart-topping LP with his third studio album.

At #2, Queens of the Stone Age’s In Times New Roman… (Matador) is in line to be their sixth Top 10 album. Pet Shop Boys could register their 18^th Top 10 album with SMASH: The Singles 1985-2020 (Parlophone), #3 at the midway point.

Far From Saints—a trio of Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones and Patty Lynn and Dwight Baker of The Wind and The Wave—are eyeing a #4 debut with their eponymous Ignition LP.

THE WORLD EP.2: OUTLAW (KG) from ATEEZ is on course to be the K-pop group’s Top 10 album; it’s #6.

Rounding out the Top 10 are Texas’ The Very Best Of—1989-2023 ([PIAS]) at #7 and Ben Howard’s Is It? (Island) at #8.

At singles, Leigh-Anne is eyeing a #3 debut with her first solo release, “Don’t Say Love” (Warner).

It’s behind Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding’s “Miracle” (Columbia), which is heading toward a ninth non-consecutive week at #1, and Dave & Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Live Yours/Neighbourhood) at #2.

New peaks are in store for Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam” (BMG) at #7, Hannah Laing & RoRo’s “Good Love” (Polydor) at #11, and Jorja Smith’s “Little Things” (FAMM) at #15. DJ and producer Peggy Gou could claim her first-ever Top 40 single with “(It Goes Like) Nanana” (XL) at #18.

Niall Horan’s The Show (Capitol) has hit #1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, his second solo #1. Over on singles, Dave and Central Cee score a second week at the top.

New at #2 today is McFly’s Power to Play (BMG) with Manchester band James’ Be Open to the Wonderful (Nothing But Love Music) entering at #3.

Paranoia, Angels, True Love (Because Music) from Christine & The Queens is new at #7.

Outside of the Top 10, King Krule’s Space Heavy (XL) is at #14, while Noah Kahan claims his first Top 40 LP with the expanded edition of Stick Season (Mercury/Republic) at #17.

On the U.K’s Official Singles Chart, “Sprinter” (Live Yours/Neighbourhood) by Dave and Central Cee remains #1. Two tracks from the same EP, Split Decision, net new peaks: “Trojan Horse” is up two to #12 and “UK Rap” rises three to #14.

J Hus & Drake have the highest new singles entry today with “Who Told You” (Black Butter/OVO/Republic) at #2.

Elsewhere, “Dancing is Healing” (Room Two Records) by Rudimental, Charlotte Plank and Vibe Chemistry is up two to #6, while “Padam Padam” (BMG) by Kylie Minogue is up two to #9.

Summer anthem “Good Love” (Polydor) by DJ Hannah Laing and vocalist RoRo is up nine to #13. Jorja Smith has her highest charting single since 2019 with “Little Things” (FAMM) rising eight to #20.

Armada Music has hired Jason Ellis as global senior A&R director, based in London. He previously helmed UMG U.K. label, Positiva.

In his new role, Ellis will be responsible for sourcing and developing up-and-coming talent. He will also serve as acquisition consultant for BEAT Music Fund, Armada’s recently launched dance music investment arm.

“Having Jason on board to steer the A&R direction for both BEAT and Armada will be invaluable as we strive to build the greatest legacy of dance music,” said Maykel Piron, CEO of Armada Music and BEAT Music Fund.

Across 20 years at the helm of Positiva, Ellis helped the label generate over 80m single sales, 3.5m album sales and 4b streams in the U.K. alone.

He most recently served as managing director, combining the role with senior A&R duties at Virgin, Virgin EMI and, most recently, EMI Records. There, he signed Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Jonas Blue, while overseeing campaigns for Avicii, Gorgon City, Sub Focus, David Guetta and deadmau5.

Grassroots music venues across the U.K. have received a £5m funding boost from the Government, which will give 400 venues around £12.5k each across a two-year period.

Secretary of State for Culture Lucy Frazer announced the fund, which will be administered by Arts Council England. It aims to address a 16.9% drop in shows that took place at grassroots venues in the U.K. in 2022 as a result of rising costs related to energy bills, rent and staffing.

The Music Venue Trust says that a lack of funding to meet the increasing financial demands of touring have led to a perfect storm for grassroots artists, with not just the number of tours cut but also the number of dates per tour significantly declining in the last 10 years.

“There is a well-documented and evidenced crisis at grassroots level,” Live Projects Coordinator for MVT Rebecca Walker said. “We have new and emerging artists who want to tour, venues who are desperate to host them, audiences that want to see them, but the financial obstacles have simply become too great.

“With this additional £5m we are going to be able to work with the sector to get artists back out across the country, producing thousands of shows that simply wouldn’t be able to take place without this funding.”

Mark Davyd, CEO and Founder of MVT, called for the music industry to “step up, take responsibility, and match this government action with its own positive response.”

“At the top level, we are enjoying the greatest ever summer of live music in the U.K. We need to ensure that grassroots music venues share in that financial success, and that can be achieved simply and effectively through a contribution from every ticket sold at every arena and stadium event.”

The U.K. Government has agreed to pump an extra £3.2m into the Music Export Growth Scheme, which offers grants to independent companies to support artist careers overseas.

The funds will be distributed across the next two years and are part of the Government’s ambition to grow the U.K.’s creative industries by £50b by 2030.

Since its launch, the scheme, which BPI manages,has invested around £5m to support the careers of more than 300 British artists, including beabadoobee (pictured), Bicep, Dave, Rina Sawayama, Wolf Alice and Young Fathers. The BPI says it has generated a return of more than £13 for every £1 invested.

“At a time when U.K. artists face greater competition than ever before in a now truly global music market, the Music Export Growth Scheme is an invaluable resource for those independent artists and music companies looking to export their music around the world,” said Sophie Jones, BPI CSO and interim Chief Exec. “The scheme is already well over-subscribed, and with this additional investment, it will be able to help even more deserving artists achieve global success.”

When launching his vision for the creative industries, British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “The creative industries are a true British success story, from global music stars like Adele and Ed Sheeran to world-class cultural institutions like the BBC. These industries have a special place in our national life and make a unique contribution to how we feel about ourselves as a country. We want to build on this incredible success to drive growth in our economy—one of my key priorities—and to ensure that U.K. creative industries continue to lead the world long into the future.”

Niall Horan’s The Show (Capitol) is heading toward #1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart while over on singles, J Hus looks set for the top.

Should Horan stay on top come Friday, he will claim his second solo #1.

McFly are new at #2 today with Power to Play (BMG), while Manchester band James’ Be Open to the Wonderful (Nothing But Love Music) starts at #3.

Paranoia, Angels, True Love (Because Music) from Christine & The Queens is eyeing a Top 5 debut at #4. Rock band Extreme are back after a 15-year hiatus with Six (earMUSIC) at #5.

Two more albums that could land in this week’s Top 10 are: a 40th anniversary re-issue of The Hurting (Mercury) by Tears For Fears at #7; and King Krule’s Space Heavy (XL) at #8.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles midweeks, “Who Told You” (Black Butter/OVO/Republic) by J Hus f/Drake is heading for #1.

“Dancing is Healing” (Room Two Records) by Rudimental, Charlotte Plank and Vibe Chemistry is up three to #5, while “Padam Padam” (BMG) by Kylie Minogue is up two to #10.

Dave and Central Cee have two tracks from their Split Decision EP (NBR/Live Yours) that are also set to reach new peaks: “Trojan Horse” is #11 today and “UK Rap” is #13.