The State of Arts PR survey 2026

Publication Closures, AI and Funding and Budget Cuts Top Concerns for Arts PRs in 2026.

For the third year, we have run our annual survey aimed at taking the temperature of arts PR across the UK.

The survey reveals that:

• Well over half (65%) cited further publication closures as their main concern for the year ahead.
• Views on AI are divided with just over half (55%) using it to help reduce work load while the same proportion raised concerns about a lack of regulation.
• More than four in five respondents (83%) feel that the media fuels a sense of division in the UK withover a third (38%) stating they felt their projects didn’t secure the coverage they thought it would because of its subject matter.

Completed by freelancers and in-house and agency professionals spanning all levels from assistant to company owner, the research highlights further closure of publications (65%), Artificial Intelligence (55%) and cuts to both campaign budgets and funding (52%) as the main concerns for the year ahead.  

Opinion within the sector seems split on the use of AI. While over half (55%) said it was a concern and wasn’t regulated properly, an equal number said it helped to reduce repetitive or tedious tasks and felt it could be positive if regulated properly. Just under a third (32%) felt it was untrustworthy and the quality of output poor.  

Concerns around the wider media landscape were evident as an overwhelming majority of respondents (83%) felt that the media fed into a sense of division in the UK. More than a third (38%) said they felt their projects didn’t secure the coverage they had anticipated due to its themes or politics. Alongside this and building on last year’s finding that a quarter (25%) of those polled listed influencer relations in their top five responsibilities, 37% said this aspect of their role has increased, potentially a direct response to shrinking editorial opportunities. 

Each year, respondents are asked how easy or difficult they find securing reviews, news, interviews and features across national and regional print and broadcast media. As in previous years, regional broadcast remains the area where PRs report the most success, a trend that has continued since 2023. National media, meanwhile, continues to be seen as the most challenging, with little change reflected in this year’s results. Concerns about the health of the UK media remain a recurring theme, echoing 2024’s results, when declining coverage space and an increasingly oversaturated market were cited as the main concerns by 68% of respondents.  

Head of Press Emma Berge said, “As with the creatives we work with, and as in most industries, arts PR is having to come to grips with the benefits and pitfalls of AI. It comes with it a whole Pandora’s Box of difficult questions – about ethics, about trustworthiness, about quality – so it comes as no surprise that the survey shows that our peers are treating it with a healthy amount of skepticism and wariness, even as we try to use it to improve our practice."  

“The changes in media landscape are something we always monitor and adapt to, but the way divisiveness has become more prevalent holds a particular concern for those of us who champion theatre that is bold, raises awareness and tackles difficult topics with nuance. There’s a horrible irony in knowing that shows that try to talk about difficult or controversial topics don’t get talked about in certain media because of difficult or controversial topics.” 

Established in 2003, the team at Mobius provide PR, marketing, design, print and distribution services for the arts, specialising in theatre and dance. They have an established track record of working on festivals and other multi-strand events, as well as initiatives in health, tackling social issues and engaging local communities. They promote arts in London, across the UK and at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

Last year’s survey results can be found here.

If you've any thoughts or feedback on the above please do get in touch, we'd love to start a conversation.