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Beyond the critical acclaim and handy sales boost, the U.K.’s Mercury Prize comes with an added bonus: a £25,000 ($32,000) cash prize for the chosen artist. For some previous winners – like Alt-J (2012) and Antony and The Johnsons (2015) – the money has covered the expenses of being a touring act, while Badly Drawn Boy (2000) infamously threw the cheque away in the heat of the winning moment (his cash prize was ultimately honored).
Now Sam Fender has joined a number of past winners by making a statement and donating the entirety of the cash prize to charity. The Music Venue Trust, a charity that supports grassroots music spaces and the scene as a whole, will be the beneficiary of Fender’s generosity. Fender joins previous winners such as Ms. Dynamite (2002) and M People (1994) who have made public that they donated their cash winnings to causes close to their hearts.
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Fender was awarded the Mercury Prize, an annual prize for an outstanding LP by a British or Irish artist, in his hometown Newcastle upon Tyne, England (Oct. 16). His third studio album People Watching saw off competition from Fontaines D.C., Pulp, FKA twigs, PinkPantheress and more at the ceremony which was held outside of London for the first time in its history.
People Watching remains the fastest-selling British album of 2025, and on Saturday (Nov. 15) a live concert film shot at his 80,000-capacity London Stadium show will be broadcast on YouTube. A deluxe edition of the album features collaborations with Olivia Dean and Elton John, and is set for release on Dec. 5.
The Music Venue Trust works to protect and secure the future of grassroots venues across the country. In 2024 a report by the charity shared that grassroots music venues operated on a profit margin of just 0.48%, with 43.8% of them reporting a loss. In 2024 alone, 25 music venues closed in the U.K. due to rising costs for venues and changing consumer habits.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today if it wasn’t for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out,” Fender said about the reasons for the donation. “These venues are legendary, but they are struggling.”
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Fender has worked previously with the MVT, most recently donating £100,000 from his 2024 U.K. arena tour via a voluntary £1 ticket levy. He joins acts such as Katy Perry, The Last Dinner Party and Enter Shikari in making the commitment; Coldplay pledged 10% of all revenue from the U.K. leg of the Music of The Spheres tour to the MVT.
Mark Davyd, chief executive and founder of the Music Venue Trust, said, “This is an incredible gesture by Sam, demonstrating once again that artists absolutely understand how vital grassroots music venues are to their careers and to their communities. We are honored to accept this donation and will ensure every penny of it makes a direct difference to the campaign to keep live music at the heart of our towns and cities.”
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Iceland Airwaves managing director Ísleifur Thorhallsson, beaming in a festival-branded baseball cap, radiates enthusiasm as you enter NASA, a postcard-pretty conference hall in downtown Reykjavík, Iceland. “You can already feel the energy everywhere in the city,” he says on the eve of the festival’s 2025 edition. “This festival is built purely off passion.”
For four bustling days (Nov. 5-8), that sentiment rings true across nearly every corner of the city. Step inside the lobby of Center Hotels Laugavegur – where dozens of international industry figures congregate for the week – and you’re greeted by a 4K TV screen, playing music videos from Icelandic artists on loop. Festival posters transform Nordic-style buildings with bold splashes of colour. “Reykjavík Music City” tote bags swing on the shoulders of conference attendees, who exchange ideas over black coffee and thick slabs of hjónabandssaela – or “happy marriage cake,” a traditional rhubarb jam tart.
Launching in 1999 as a one-off weekender in an airplane hangar, Iceland Airwaves is now recognised as a premier event in the European festival calendar. Its guiding philosophy stems from how Reykjavík makes a lot of noise on the global stage, despite having a population of only 139,000; it’s a city that, through government grants and a cluster of marketing agencies focused on promoting music abroad, invests deeply in culture and empowers its artists.
Over the years, Iceland Airwaves has played host to acts that have gone on to become global stars, including Fontaines D.C. and Florence + The Machine, while also consistently showcasing a wide array of Icelandic talent. As with any new music festival, the trick is to come with an open mind and get ready to uncover acts ready to make a name for themselves.
Homegrown success stories that have come up through the festival in recent years include jazz-pop maestro Laufey, who played two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in October, and Grammy-nominated pianist Ólafur Arnalds. The international profile of Iceland’s music shows that locals already know that a prominent slot can be a key next step for a local artist’s success, but as has become the norm with this festival, delegates from across the U.K., US and Europe were invited to listen in and watch the magic unfold, too.
To that end, Iceland Airwaves holds its place as a tastemaker event, platforming breakthrough acts from both sides of the Atlantic as well as giving a boost to the future stars of its country. These were the biggest takeaways from 2025’s edition.
Gen Z Is Redefining the Festival Experience…
Trending on Billboard It’s another “Golden” week for KPop Demon Hunters as the breakout song reaches a whopping 10th week at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart dated Nov. 7. The song, taken from the Netflix smash film, is credited to the animated group HUNTR/X and sung by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei […]
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Corinne Bailey Rae will headline the second edition of Billboard U.K. Live, a new live music series celebrating artists who shape culture and define sound.
In partnership with Aviva, who joins as Presenting Partner, Billboard U.K. will bring fans, leaders and industry leaders together for a one-night-only experience that blends performance and storytelling.
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Taking place at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, on Dec. 2, Grammy Award-winning artist Corinne Bailey Rae will perform an intimate set in The Hall, as well as partake in an exclusive Q&A session with Billboard U.K. editor Thomas Smith.
Tickets for the event are free and will be awarded via a ballot. Register here before Nov. 17, 9 a.m. GMT for the chance to win two tickets for you and a guest. Successful applicants will be contacted by Nov. 19. Attendees must be age 18 or over.
Throughout an illustrious career, Bailey Rae has established herself as a singular voice in British music. Her self-titled 2005 debut LP peaked at No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, spawning hits “Put Your Records On” and “Like a Star.” She collected a Grammy in 2012 for best R&B performance, and two of her albums, The Sea (2010) and Black Rainbows (2023), were nominated for the Mercury Prize.
The latter record saw the singer-songwriter pen a striking meditation on the history of Black experience she discovered at the Stony Island Arts Bank archive in Chicago. It landed her vast acclaim in the U.K., with critics praising Bailey Rae’s genre-spanning approach, blending influences across rock, electronica, jazz, hardcore punk and the African diaspora.
“We can’t wait to welcome audiences to Aviva Studios for an incredible night with Corinne Bailey Rae, brought to life through our exciting partnership with Billboard U.K.,” said Tom Whiteside, group head of sponsorship, Aviva. “This is all about celebrating music, creativity and the unique energy of this amazing venue.”
The show will follow the inaugural Billboard U.K. Live experience, which took place at The Great Escape festival in Brighton this past May. The event featured a wealth of emerging talent including Daffo, RIP Magic and Westside Cowboy, alongside headliners English Teacher, the winners of the 2024 Mercury Prize.
“Our collaboration with Aviva reflects a shared vision to create meaningful moments for artists and their fans across the U.K.,” said Elizabeth Crisante, chief commercial officer, Billboard U.K. “Hosting Corinne Bailey Rae at Aviva Studios brings that vision to life, with a globally acclaimed artist performing in one of the country’s most inspiring cultural spaces.”
Stay tuned to uk.billboard.com and @billboarduk on social media for further information on the event.
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Outernet London is set to elevate the stories of transgender people from across the U.K. with a new photography exhibition.
“Trans Is Human,” created by trans-rights activists Jake and Hannah Graf MBE, will take over the venue’s large-scale screens on Nov. 17. The free installation will be soundtracked by Yungblud’s “Hello, Heaven, Hello” from the rocker’s recent U.K. chart-topping LP Idols.
The exhibition features portraits of 13 trans people from across the U.K., photographed by Mariano Vivanco. Each image will be accompanied by personal stories exploring themes of identity and resilience.
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Among those highlighted will be Amanda, a refugee and the first Miss Trans Global Uganda; Sarah, who overcame sight loss to support LGBTQ+ people with disabilities while running marathons; and Leo, a speaker and life coach with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
“The idea for ‘Trans Is Human’ came about following years and years of misinformation and the demonization of the U.K.’s trans community that left us almost entirely dehumanized,” said Jake and Hannah in a press release. “Working with Mariano to allow these very human people to soar was an absolute pleasure and thrill.”
They continued: “Now, at such a pivotal moment for the U.K. trans community, as we face the possible loss of many of our most basic human rights, ‘Trans Is Human’ is more vital than ever. We are supremely grateful to the Outernet team and Yungblud for elevating the campaign and helping to remind the world that trans people are human too.”
Yungblud added: “I’m honored that ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’ will be a part of this exhibition. ‘Trans Is Human’ is all about celebrating truth, identity and the beauty of being yourself, unapologetically. That’s something I’ve always tried to celebrate in everything I do. I’m buzzing to play even a small part in telling these powerful stories.”
Outernet London opened in late 2022, and the following year, was ranked the capital’s most visited attraction by Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, bringing in 6.25 million visitors before hitting its first anniversary. Located near Tottenham Court Road station, its four-story, 360-degree screen surface is the first of its kind in the U.K., while Outernet is also home to two live music venues: The Lower Third and HERE.
Scott Neal, Outernet Creative Director, Culture and Lifestyle said in a statement: “The work being done around trans and broader LGBTQ+ equality is far from over. A recent YouGov poll showed 84% of trans people in Britain feel unsafe in public spaces. ‘Trans Is Human’ showcases the humanity behind individual trans stories to highlight that gender identity is just a part of a person’s story.
“At Outernet, equality, fairness and safety are values we live by every single day,” he concluded. “We thank Hannah and Jake for creating this piece and we’re proud to display it for everyone.”
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Ed Sheeran has celebrated a major victory for his music education campaign as the U.K. government confirmed on Wednesday (Nov. 5) that music lessons will be taught more widely in schools.
Earlier today a major review of the National Curriculum – which dictates what subjects and topics are taught in non-fee-paying state schools – was published by the Labour government. The changes are the first in over a decade, and will see a number of modern topics (such as artificial intelligence) enter the classroom.
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The report says that arts subjects will also be “revitalised” and will see the scrapping of the English baccalaureate (EBacc), which critics – including Sheeran – said limited subject choice for students at a GCSE level (ages 14-16). Under the program, introduced in 2010 by then-education secretary Micahel Gove, pupils were required to study a minimum of seven GCSEs, including maths and a language, but the options did not include any arts subjects.
In March, Sheeran called on U.K. prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to scrap the Ebacc, deliver £250 million in spending towards music in a classroom environment and enlist more teachers for music subjects. His letter was backed by over 600 signatories, including Sir Elton John, Harry Styles, Coldplay and more. He also launched the Ed Sheeran Foundation in January to help support careers in music.
“We are at a critical point: a future of no music in state schools, no music teachers to teach, broken instruments and no grassroots venues,” he wrote in his letter. “As a young music student and aspiring artist, I benefited from opportunities in and out of school to learn and grow. Unfortunately, after decades of defunding and de-prioritising, music is no longer a right for all children – it’s a luxury for only a few.”
Sheeran’s efforts have now been recognized both by Starmer and Bridget Phillippson, secretary for education. The former sent a direct response to Sheeran saying that his “voice had been heard”. During her speech in parliament on Wednesday, Philippson credited Sheeran for speaking “so powerfully” on the subject. The final curriculum will be published in spring 2027, and schools will begin teaching it from September 2028.
Sheeran has responded to the news and the success of his letter, writing “With the help of the letter and everyone who signed it, I’m happy to say that some of the key points we raised have been recognized by the government today, marking the first change to the music curriculum in over 10 years. This involves diversifying the music genres taught in schools and removing outdated systems that stop kids from studying music and the arts as part of their school day. These changes give young people hope and the opportunity to study music.” See his full statement below.
The topic of music education was raised by a number of British artists at the BRIT Awards 2025, when winners Myles Smith and Ezra Collective called on action to help foster creativity among young people in education.
Ed Sheeran’s full statement
I set up the Ed Sheeran Foundation because every child deserves to have access to a meaningful music education, and the chance to experience the joy and confidence that musical expression can bring.
Shortly after setting up my foundation, I wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister about the critical state of music education in the UK and the fact it was slipping through the cracks. The letter was backed by so many incredible people across the music industry and education who all said the same thing: music education matters. The Prime Minister replied, recognising the challenges and expressing his commitment to change.
With the help of the letter and everyone who signed it, I’m happy to say that some of the key points we raised have been recognised by the government today, marking the first change to the music curriculum in over 10 years. This involves diversifying the music genres taught in schools and removing outdated systems that stop kids from studying music and the arts as part of their school day. These changes give young people hope and the opportunity to study music.
Without the encouragement I received in school, especially from my music teacher, I wouldn’t be a musician today, and I know so many of my peers feel the same. My music education went beyond learning and playing. It helped me find confidence in myself, and music itself was – and still is – so important for my mental health.
There’s a lot more to do to support music education, especially our music teachers, but this is a step in the right direction.
Thank you so much to everyone who signed and supported the letter.
Today is a good day.
Ed x
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A coalition of top independent labels has joined forces to launch Catalog, a curated music licensing marketplace designed to let artists sync their music and receive real-time compensation.
Beggars Group, Domino, Ninja Tune, Warp, Partisan Records and Erased Tapes are among the early supporters of the platform, which launches Wednesday (Nov. 5) via music supervision company Too Young Ltd.
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Created by Frederic Schindler, AIM’s music supervisor of the Year 2025, the platform will debut with more than 30,000 sync-ready tracks from over 1,800 artists, with the aim of serving as an antidote to the royalty-free stock music economy.
Catalog arrives with the intention of helping to put more money into artists’ pockets. Creatives are able to set sync offers via its Sync Smart Pricing technology, which analyzes data points on an artist and song history to generate market-rate fees. The process thus allows for approvals faster, bypassing the traditional exchange of documents and any subsequent red-lines by auto-generating a final license once the terms have been agreed upon between stakeholders.
While searching for music on Catalog, creatives can use advanced filters such as audio similarity, and audio-to-picture auditioning, as well as being guided by a human-led “editorial search” mode to find relevant tracks. Artists signed up to the platform include Kurt Vile, Yves Tumor, Ela Minus, Marie Davidson and Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds.
By providing this technology, Catalog is seeking to reduce the number of sync exchanges with “ghost artist libraries” – stock music attributed to anonymous musicians, presumably in an effort to reduce sync payouts for advertisements, video content and so forth.
“Catalog is the result of a deep collaboration with the most forward-thinking rights holders in the industry,” Schindler explained to Billboard U.K. “This is what happens when artists, labels, publishers, managers, and supervisors come together to address a problem. We’re not ‘disrupting’ them; we’re building this new era together.”
Ahead of its launch, Catalog music director Thierry Planelle worked with Veronique Nichanian, creative director of Hermès, to replace a key track for the fashion house’s Men’s Ready to Wear 2026 runway prior to the show. The feat prompted an endorsement from Christof Ellinghaus, founder and CEO of revered indie City Slang.
“This placement very quickly demonstrated Catalog’s ease of process and powerful usability,” Ellinghaus said in a press release. “We are excited about the prospects ahead with this great new platform. And trust us, we usually hate platforms!”
Membership applications for Catalog are now open in the U.K., Europe, US, Canada and Mexico. Further access information can be found on its official website.
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After an absence of seven years, Radiohead returned to the stage on Tuesday night (Nov. 4) for a career-spanning set at Madrid’s Movistar Arena.
The highly anticipated show was the first of a sold-out 20-date run, which will see the Oxford-formed band play across the U.K. and Europe – including a four-night residency at London’s O2 Arena – with shows in Madrid, Bologna, Copenhagen and Berlin through November and December.
This was the first time the band had performed together live onstage since summer 2018, when they performed at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 1. In a press statement released earlier this year, drummer Philip Selway explained what it meant for the five-piece to reunite.
“Last year, we got together to rehearse, just for the hell of it,” he said. “After a seven-year pause, it felt really good to play the songs again and reconnect with a musical identity that has become lodged deep inside all five of us.”
Radiohead called a hiatus after wrapping up an extensive world tour in support of their last full-length effort, 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool. The record became their sixth No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Album Charts and hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and landed them a Coachella headline slot in 2017.
Each member has remained active and recording, most notablly frontman Thom Yorke and guitarist Jonny Greenwood, who formed The Smile with drummer Thom Skinner and released three studio LPs. Radiohead-related activity ramped up over the past year with a live reissue of 2003 album Hail to the Thief and reworked version of that LP appearing in a Manchester production of Hamlet.
Personal loss and emotional burnout contributed to the group’s decision to step back from the stage. In a recent interview, frontman Thom Yorke reflected on the touring activity for A Moon Shaped Pool. “I guess the wheels came off a bit, so we had to stop,” Yorke said. “The shows felt great but it was, like, let’s halt now before we walk off this cliff.”
He also discussed his personal grief following the death of his first wife, Dr. Rachel Owen, in late 2016, whom he had separated from a year earlier. “I needed to stop anyway, because I hadn’t really given myself time to grieve,” he said. “My grief was coming out in ways that made me think, I need to take this away.”
Having since given way to reflection, Radiohead appeared rejuvenated onstage in Madrid. The band played a 25-song set, encompassing some of the most taut and tender moments from their nine studio albums. The show was opened by “Let Down,” a song from 1997’s OK Computer that has become a streaming sensation in recent months, and the song debuted at No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August to give them their first appearance on the chart since 2008’s “Nude.”
The setlist – which is expected to vary night to night – featured a number of big hits (“Karma Police”) and fan favorites (“Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”), but omitted some of their most well-known songs, too, including “Creep” from 1994’s Pablo Honey.
Here’s a look at the setlist from Radiohead’s return to the stage at Madrid’s Movistar Arena.
“Let Down”
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The Oasis Live ‘25 Tour kicked off its Australian leg last week (Oct. 31), and it continues to dominate music headlines as the shows roll along.
In a landmark move for Australia’s live music sector, Victoria’s government shut down bulk ticket scalping for Oasis’ recent Melbourne shows (Oct. 31, Nov. 1-4) at the Marvel Stadium by designating them under the Major Events Act 2009. The act allows the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events to formally declare events that then become subject to anti-scalping protections.Under this special declaration, it became illegal to advertise or resell tickets on platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub for more than 10% above the original face value; if they flouted these restrictions, scalpers could be fined between $908 and $545,000 (AUD). A subsequent report from the Herald Sun states that 180,000 tickets for the sold-out shows went to fans as a result of the government effectively shutting out scalpers.
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Oasis’ management applauded the news, saying it could set a new benchmark for fairness in the live music market. “It’s great to see Victoria’s Major Events Declaration doing exactly what it’s meant to — Viagogo can’t list our Melbourne shows — and that’s a huge win for real fans,” they told the Herald Sun.
“When the government and the live industry work together, we can stop large-scale scalping in its tracks,” they added. “We’d love to see other states follow Victoria’s lead so fans everywhere get a fair go.”
Before last week, Oasis had not performed in Australia in nearly two decades. After tonight’s (Nov. 4) final Melbourne gig, they’ll head to Sydney (Nov. 7 and 8), before performing across Argentina, Chile and Brazil, wrapping up proceedings in São Paulo on Nov. 23.
Earlier this month in the U.K., the country’s culture minister, Ian Murray, confirmed that the current Labour government will press ahead with plans for a price cap on resale tickets.
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An industry consultation that took place in January invited views from venues, promoters, fans and other parties on the proposed price, which ranged from no profit being permitted on any ticket to a mark-up of up to 30% of face value.
Writing in the Daily Record last month (Oct. 5), Murray said: “We asked a direct question — should the UK follow countries like Ireland, where resale profiteering is capped in law? The response from fans could not have been a clearer — ‘yes.’”
“So let me tell you what we’re doing,” Murray continued. “First, we will cap resale prices. No more outrageous mark-ups of 500% or 1,000%. We are examining a range of options, from face value to a reasonable uplift.”
UK Finance, which represents 300 financial services outfits including Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC and Barclay, has lobbied against the decision for fear of customers losing out in an unregulated market. Adam Webb of the Fan Fair Alliance, however, disputed these claims in an interview with The Times. “I would advise UK Finance actually speak to experts in those countries, rather than rely on the self-interested research of unregulated offshore websites who promote industrial-scale ticket touting and exploit British audiences,” he said.
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Next year’s hard rock Download Festival will feature headlining slots from Linkin Park, Guns N’ Roses and Limp Bizkit. The 23rd edition of the fest — branded DLXXIII — will take place from June 10-14, 2026 in Donington Park, Leicestershire in the U.K.
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The massive event featuring more than 90 rock, metal, punk, emo, hardcore and classic rock acts will welcome nu-metal rockers Limp Bizkit for their first-ever headlining slot on Friday — they performed a well-received Download set last year — with veterans GNR headlining on Saturday and Linkin Park doing the honors on Sunday night in their first Download appearance since reuniting with singer Emily Armstrong as their lead singer in 2024; the group headlined Download twice (2004, 2014) with their original lineup. GNR have headlined at Download twice before as well, but haven’t taken the stage there since 2018.
Among the other bands on next year’s roster are: Bad Omens, Cypress Hill, Trivium, Halestorm, Pendulum, All-American Rejects, Mastodon, Baby Metal, Ice Nine Kills, Tom Morello, Black Vein Brides, Dogstar, Drowning Pool, P.O.D. Bush, Feeder, Ash, The Pretty Reckless, Static-X, Spineshank and many more. Click here for ticketing information.
Also slated to take the stage at the 2026 event are: Bloodywood, Hollywood Undead, Kublai Khan TX, letlive., LANDMVRKS, Mammoth, Paleface Swiss, Periphery, RØRY, Set It Off, Sleep Theory, Social Distortion, Story Of The Year, Those Damn Crows, We Came As Romans, Corrosion of Conformity, Decapitated, Dinosaur Pile-Up, DRAIN and Ego Kill Talent.
Check out the full 2026 Download Festival poster below.
Billboard’s Live Music Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. For tickets and more information, click here.
