The music industry is a London-centric one. It always has been. Attention and opportunities are pooled in the Southern regions, and major regional disparity gate-keeps the industry and makes it way more accessible for the elite.
But in 2025 we saw the beginnings of a major cultural shift. Earlier in the year, in February, the MOBO awards made their appearance in the Toon, before shortly being followed by The Mercury Prize later in September. Early in the following year, in February 2026, The Brits also spread its wings, moving from the 02 Arena in London to Manchester's Co-Op live.
Having had a music scene that's been consistently disregarded in favour of the South for too long, the movement of these celebrations to the North was a refreshing – and long overdue – recognition of what Northerners have to offer musically.
Particularly Newcastle too. Regularly overlooked for our size and working-class roots, for the first time it felt that the musical ecosystem of artists, venues and talent that exists in the region was finally acknowledged.
And the momentum doesn't seem to be stopping.
…a genuine step in making long-term, cultural change...
As the Mercury Prize returns to Newcastle for a second year in a row, it provides hope that the big shift to the north last year was not a quick attempt at squashing complaints about the regional divide. It wasn't a cheeky holiday before returning to London, but rather a genuine step in making long-term, cultural change, and to sustain this long-overdue recognition of North East music.
Institutionally too, we've seen structural changes within the prize itself as new attention is owed to North East artists. Out of the 420 albums that have been shortlisted during the 35 years of the Mercury Prize's lifetime, only eight have been by artists from the North East.
Now three of those Geordies were shortlisted this year and last: Sam Fender in 2025, and both JADE and Knats together in 2026.
Don't get it twisted, eight out of 420 shows the North East is still massively underrepresented; the ratio is still incredibly unequal and unjust. However, going from only five nominations to eight in the last two years is a clear and sudden spike in the appreciation of North East music.
Sam wasn't just shortlisted too, but won. The local pride that exuded from the screams and cheers upon his win; the 'Toon, Toon, Black and White Army' chants that erupted as he took to the stage to take the trophy; signalled how special and monumental a moment it was for not just Sam, but the region.
David Ike-Elechi From Knats summed up a similar sentiment about the communal impact of their shortlist, in an interview for Mercury Prize on Instagram:
"...This [Knats' nomination] is also a win for every place, neighboring Newcastle [and] the whole of the North East. [It’s] a win for everyone, you know, because it’s not just about us, it’s about the community that’s helped us, all the venues that we’ve played at, growing up and all this. [It’s] a massive community effort” - DI-E
...we understand the disadvantage the North faces, with unequal access to opportunities compared to those in the south.
The appreciation that shortlisted artists from the North East express, and the region's passionate response to the Mercury Prize's move too, also has something to say about how important this return means for the region. Whether artist or fan, we're all incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have North East music platformed: we understand the disadvantage the North faces, with unequal access to opportunities compared to those in the south.
The Mercury Prize also claims it's shortlist and winner decisions are "based solely on the quality of the music”, so beyond highlighting our regions music, the prize is a merit to the quality and artistic ability of Sam, JADE and Knats too.
Furthermore, whilst Sam Fender and JADE are under the conglomerate labels of Universal and Sony respectively, Knats' are yet to be pulled under the wing of a music industry giant. Their inclusion in the shortlist reflects that the prize is not just cherry-picking those select few Geordies that have managed to climb themselves into the charts, but looking further at what the region has to offer beneath those mainstream names. Again, reinforcing that this is about genuinely championing the actual talent the North East has.
As the Mercury Prize also covets itself for recognizing albums from a variety of genres too, the prize doesn't just celebrate our region's mere capability to produce quality music, but also the generic range of that music: as Sam, JADE and Knats cover grounds of rock, pop, right through to the likes of Jazz.
The sustained, broad and thorough recognition that the North East is receiving, hints that these shifts are more than a superficial attempt to squash complaints about regional disparity. Nevertheless, two years is still not that long, and there's still time for the music industry to enter a recession back to it's London-centric roots. That being said, the current recognition of the North East as a musical powerhouse is not slowing down. Momentum remains, and it's a good indication attitudes are genuinely beginning to shift, and North East music is – finally – being taken seriously.