Sam Fender has spoken out against the music industry, calling it “rigged” for the upper class, claiming that it’s made of “90 per cent kids who are privately educated”.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the ‘Seventeen Going Under’ songwriter said: “The music industry is 80 per cent, 90 per cent kids who are privately educated. A kid from where I’m from can’t afford to tour, so there are probably thousands writing songs that are ten times better than mine, poignant lyrics about the country, but they will not be seen because it’s rigged.”

He drew more comparisons between his industry peers and his friends up North. Fender is from a working-class family in North Shields, a town in the borough of North Tyneside.

“Well, I’ve noticed that my drug addict friends who are posh go to rehab, but my mates with issues up there just die,” he commented.

He also spoke about the lack of popular conversation on class: “People are very unaware. We are very good at talking about privileges – white, male or straight privilege. We rarely talk about class, though. And that’s a lot of the reason that all the young lads are seduced by demagogues like Andrew Tate.

“They’re being shamed all the time and made to feel like they’re a problem. It’s this narrative being told to white boys from nowhere towns. People preach to some kid in a pit town in Durham who’s got fuck all and tell him he’s privileged? Then Tate tells him he’s worth something? It’s seductive.”

Research from various sources supports his claims about class barriers in the music industry. A report from the Sutton Trust found vast overrepresentation in the arts from those with affluent “upper middle-class backgrounds”. It also showed that 43% of Britain’s best-selling classical musicians are alumni of private schools.

Likewise, a report from national charity Youth Music titled ‘A Blueprint for the Future’ found that socio-economic class was the biggest barrier for young people being able to earn money through music – it highlighted the commonality of unpaid work, and how it impacts those from the working class without a safety net to fall on.

An article from Far Out Magazine also cited an unnamed study published in 2022, claiming that that since the 1970s, the number of creative workers (across multiple disciplines like music, film, art, etc.) from working-class backgrounds has significantly decreased to only 7.9%.

Sam Fender’s third album ‘People Watching’ was released on Friday, 21 Feb, and is heading to No. 1, seeing one of the biggest opening weeks of 2025 on the UK album charts. It’s received widespread critical acclaim for its storytelling and personal and social themes, with The Guardian commenting: “Ultimately, this is a lonely document of fame, and of a man clinging on to the community his talents have propelled him away from.” He’ll be touring the UK later this year.

Fender has also been chosen as the latest ambassador for Record Store Day UK, later in April this year. You can read our article on that here.