Despite shuttered music venues, a struggling Edinburgh fringe, and a film industry reliant on US investment, British culture has experienced a remarkable global surge in 2025. Homegrown music, television, film, and even memes have dominated the international zeitgeist, raising questions about whether this momentum can be sustained.
Anglophilia from across the Atlantic has been a key driver. American musician Frankie Beanie's track 'I Used to Live in England' celebrates quintessentially British experiences like Tesco meal deals and UK garage music. Pop star Olivia Rodrigo praised English men and daytime pints during her Glastonbury headline set, fueling the 'British boyfriend' trend.
The Britishcore trend, which started in 2024 with TikTok users embracing texts like Trainspotting and institutions like Greggs, has evolved into a broader fascination with British sensibility. Young British actors dominate Hollywood, while music acts like Central Cee and TV dramas like Adolescence capture global audiences with nuanced portrayals of British identity.
However, the industry faces severe structural challenges. Grassroots venues closed at a rate of 125 in 2023, touring is financially unsustainable, and streaming has devalued recorded music. The UK divisions of Warner and Atlantic were subsumed into US operations earlier this year. The BBC lurches from crisis to crisis, and flagship dramas like Wolf Hall rely on pay cuts from cast and crew to get made.
Even major hits struggle to turn viewership into profit. 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' attracted over 13 million viewers but lost £1 million due to limited foreign sales, as noted by ITV boss Kevin Lygo. The globalization of entertainment means success is measured by international appeal, putting pressure on a small island nation to produce distinctly British content that resonates worldwide.
As British culture enjoys a golden age of global influence, the question remains whether the industry can be future-proofed against the forces of globalisation and funding cuts that threaten its very foundations.
