Smith first attracted popularity and acclaim over TikTok, where some of his covers went viral; the videos caught the attention of music labels such as RCA, with which the artist eventually signed. Before making this big jump in the music industry, the artist wanted to be sure of who he was and what he was doing: “I didn’t ever want to go to a major label without fully knowing who I was, what I wanted to be, and how I wanted to present myself to the world. I had a lot of grasp of who I was as a person, as an artist, and so I wasn’t comfortable doing anything before that point.”

Ever since, he has released various EPs including, most recently, ‘A Minute‘, which was released in late 2024 and peaked at number 63 in the UK.

Smith is perhaps best known for his hit song ‘Stargazing’, which peaked at number four in the UK and spent 37 weeks charting. The song was included in Smith’s debut EP titled ‘You Promised a Lifetime’. The song was then confirmed by Official Charts as the biggest single of 2024 by a British Artist.

Despite the singer-songwriter’s music heavily falls into the folk genre, the artist told Guitar.com that he “doesn’t want to be put in a box”, further explaining the statement saying: “It’s nice that I’m being recognised and that my music’s going far and wide, but I also never want to box myself into one category. It’s about treading the line of accepting and embracing the music that I make and the things I love to do, but also letting people know that there are many angles and different shades of what I do.”

The delicate and honest storytelling present in each of Smith’s songs have made the artist the voice of a generation who feels a lot, and the artist recognises this: in fact, he is used to people coming up to him and telling him his music changed their lives. About his songwriting, Smith says: “I feel like I only write songs when I have something to say or when I have something meaningful to contribute to the world, then they have become a nice snapshot of where I’m at at the time.”

The indie artist first rose to fame in 2022, after a video of Katie singing her song “Complex” on piano went viral on TikTok; currently, the video counts almost ten million views. “Complex” was then released as a demo on streaming platforms, soon followed by an EP titled “Songs Written For Piano” which contained both a studio version of “Complex” as well as a version of the song played live with strings. “Complex” is currently Katie’s most popular song on streaming platform, with almost 50 million streams on Spotify between the demo and the studio version. It is also, so far, the only song by the artist which has made it to the UK’s Official Charts top 100, peaking at 66. In September, the song was used in the British TV shop “Heartstopper“.

@katiegregsonmacleod here’s my saviour complex song #fyp#originalsong#singersongwriter complex (demo) – Katie Gregson-MacLeod

@katiegregsonmacleod This one’s dangerous don’t tell anyone #acoustic#glasgow#singersongwriter#originalsong♬ original sound – Katie Gregson-MacLeod

According to reports, the European Commission has said that “such a deal is impossible because it would require rewriting the EU-UK Trade And Cooperation Agreement”, as well as making changes to EU rules on customs, road haulage and services.”

Despite individual countries tweaking their visa policies post-Brexit, artists are still grappling with hefty costs and bureaucratic obstacles. The challenges span from securing cultural performance Visas to obtaining transport permits for their gear.

In theory, 21 European countries allow some form of Visa-free touring for UK artists, time windows for touring are limited to at most 90 days touring every six months. Certain countries have implemented their own particular restrictions, for example France requiring musicians to be employed by a registered venue.

“There remains uncertainty and possibly a need for bilateral deals with six other member states in relation to work permits for musicians and performers for any commercial music performance or artists and crew face costly and time-consuming visa and work permit applications,” advocacy group UK Music says.

Labour must do everything they can do ensure the music industry isn’t left behind in the wake of Brexit.https://t.co/L4S2UQBOwj

— European Movement UK (@euromove) September 4, 2024

European Movement UK runs a campaign  called Face The Music, which urges the government to address the plight of musicians and other artists trying to work and tour in the EU. Labour pledged back in May before coming to power that it would work to fix the “European touring crisis”, by negotiating, ‘an agreement on touring visas’.

Dr Mike Galsworthy, Chair of European Movement UK, said: “ We really need him to be more ambitious on this front and open up conversations about mobility in general, which is what the British public want to see.”

“Remember, it’s not just musicians, it’s theatre groups, fashion photographers, dancers, comedians and British culture in all of its wonderful dimensions. Brexit has boxed them in and it’s time to tear down these walls,” he added.

In July, the Musician’s Union conducted a survey of 200 artists who had previously performed in the EU, in which 75% polled musicians reported that their bookings in the EU had declined, while 59% said that touring in the EU was no longer financially viable  54% of artist who said their merchandise sales had been affected, as well as13% of respondents who experienced all or part of their fees being withheld due to complications in connection with tax and national insurance.

“Although over half of surveyed musicians told us that touring the EU was no longer financially viable for them, we have been working with the new Labour Government to address the concerns raised, and are hopeful that the barriers can be addressed,” the Musician’s Union said in July.

The concept of their latest album started during the 2020 lockdown when band’s postponed shows ultimately cancelled in early January 2021. Matt Healy, the lead singer used that opportunity to tease newer music from his band under the previous album name, Drive Like I Do. Unfortunately, the band confirmed that there was no exact day they were going to finish writing, recording and mixing their fifth album.

On February 14 2022, the band had to temporarily deactivate their socials, indicating new material was all set to be released, after a 7 month wait. In terms of musical style, Being Funny In A Foreign Language is a mix of Pop-Rock, Indie Folk, Baroque Pop and Electropop.

Part Of The Band Official Performance @Vevo_UK https://t.co/uXOf6lpwLL #the1975 #bfiafl pic.twitter.com/CBzQJqSt7F

— The 1975 (@the1975) October 19, 2022

The 1975 At Their Very Best UK tour Dates:

08/01/2023- The Brighton Centre- Brighton

09/01- Bournemouth International Centre- Bournemouth

10/01- Westpoint Area- Exeter

12/01 and 13/01- The O2- London

15/01- Resorts World Arena- Birmingham

Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased here.

English Pop singer, Ellie Goulding makes a comeback following the release of her fifth studio album, Higher Than Heaven which will be released on February 3rd 2023. Her album is preceded by three singles: “Easy Lover”, “All By Myself ” and “Let It Die”. Out of all her three singles, the lead single is “Easy Lover” which was released on July 15 2022. The song features American Rapper, Big Sean who is also one of the co-writers of this lead single.

The concept of her album started around the time she performed at Rock in Rio in Lisbon, Portugal in June 2022. She announced in July, she will release new music and temporarily deactivate her socials, just like The 1975 did. On July 4 2022, she announced the release of “Easy Lover”. 3 months later, following the release of  “All By Myself”, on October 7 and “Let It Die” twelve days after the second single. The musical style in Higher Than Heaven is mainly focused on Electropop and Dance-pop elements.

.@elliegoulding says “Easy Lover” has been a long time coming. Watch the English pop singer kick off her new era in music with her @bigsean collaboration.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▶️ https://t.co/u1ZAu5H2na pic.twitter.com/A0CZKJryPx

— Vevo (@Vevo) July 16, 2022

Following the release of her new single on February 3rd, she will also perform at KOKO in London on February 7 and 8.

On sale tomorrow // After selling out her first show at London's Koko, @elliegoulding has added a second night, set to take place on 7th February 2023.
Click the link below at 10am tomorrow for tickets:https://t.co/a7Bp9IDah5

— Ents24 (@Ents24) December 8, 2022

Tickets will be available here.

According to the BBC, the Creative Industries Federation has said that British artists may have to spend more time and money on items like visas for tours if freedom of movement rules are tightened in post-Brexit Europe.

Federation founder Sir John Sorrell said the creative sector is “a key driver of wealth and global success” for the UK. “To imperil that would be to imperil our wider economy. That is why we need to be at the heart of the new government’s industrial strategy and negotiating priorities in coming months.”

The federation also said:

• It may become harder for UK institutions to attract and employ European staff
• Some funding for culture, currently provided by the EU, may disappear
• New export tariffs and other trade barriers could be “a particular challenge” given the popularity of British culture abroad
• The loss of EU copyright laws and deals could leave UK creators exposed to piracy and “at a competitive disadvantage”
• The UK might not have its turn hosting the European Capital of Culture 2023

Before the result meant that Britain was going to leave the EU, Major Lazer’s production manager, Joel Stanley told IQ magazine back in March: “I think the biggest thing for me as a production manager would be the addition of a carnet [customs documents which allow the tax-free temporary importation of equipment] for every show outside the UK. Currently we only ever have to show proof of ownership with the bond and have it stamped in and out if we go outside of the EU – mainly Switzerland – but [post-Brexit we’d need a carnet] even for a one-off show in France.”

Agents and touring artists are already dealing with the aftermath of the decline of the CD business. Labels used to underwrite shows with support and use this as a marketing investment to break new acts that would then go on to sell records, thereby covering that development cost. Now, European dates will dramatically decline, with days off a rare thing because days off mean no money is coming in.

Colin Roberts of Big Life Management told Pitchfork in June: “Getting visas are an absolute minefield and it costs a lot of money, and it’s the reason that a lot of people don’t get to tour America. Even going to a country like Japan where visas are quite easy to get, I know how difficult it is having to factor in the cost and the time to acquire a visa.”