Unfortunately, the creative industry holds the same North VS South divide that permeates the country in many ways. The award ceremony and it's outcome however, marked the North East as a legitimate player within the music industry: Sam Fender's win in his home city perfectly celebrated the talent that Newcastle has to offer, and the night became symbolic of the growing response to the previous lack of the attention paid towards northern creatives. Arts Council England are currently contributing £383 million worth of funding, over three years (2023-2026), towards Northern organizations. This will provide professional artists with more opportunities that can gain them leverage within their careers. Around the same time, leading figures of the creative industry and local leaders across the North of England have discussed a 'Northern Creative Corridor' (NCC) that aims to create a network between the 'clusters of creativity' already existent across the country. Government support, investment and infrastructure however are crucial for it's success.
The current statistics for Northern Creativity are dire. In 2022, London generated the majority of the creative industries GVA by a landslide of 50.8%, whilst the North East contributed 2.5%. The North East, alongside Northern Ireland, had the lowest number of the UK's creative industry's jobs at only 2%. Bruce S. Tether discusses how over the next twenty years, trends in employment growth and labour productivity would have to increase five-fold and by three percentage points respectively, for the rest of the nation to catch up with London and the South East. Positively, the UK government has acknowledged the regional, creative imbalance in it's 2025 industrial strategy. It aims to inject significant funding into the North East's creative ecosystem as part of their creative industries sector plan.
As the government begin 'narrowing the gap' between the North and South's creative opportunities, the win for the South Shields born singer was a special moment for those northern artists that make up the creative minority. It's significance for the region was consolidated by the roaring crowd that filled the Utilita with Geordie pride. With Fender last in the setlist, the anticipation for his performance grew all night. As Radio 1's Sean Eliri announced his win, fans stood to their feet, and Fender, tongue-tied by humble disbelief and gratitude, managed to join in with the Toon chants that erupted from the audience. It was a sentimental night that perfectly captured the local sentiment Fender has managed to nurtured between him and his fans. This seamless ability to convey 'people and community' within his music is what Eliri commented had won him the prize.
The night was a true celebration of Northern creativity and community.