Fighting ticket rip-offs: The Cure's Robert Smith to be honoured as 'Fan Champion'
At the Artist & Manager Awards in London in November, The Cure frontman receives an award for standing up for fans. Jordan Rakei will also be honoured.
Archive image · Photo: Bill Ebbesen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Robert Smith, singer of The Cure, will receive the Fan Champion Award at the 2026 Artist & Manager Awards, NME reports. The award from the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and the Music Managers Forum (MMF) recognises musicians who use their platform for the good of their fans. The ceremony takes place on 18 November at the Bloomsbury Big Top in London.
In 2023 Smith criticised Ticketmaster's fees, had more than 7,000 resale tickets cancelled, and he backs the FanFair Alliance campaign for a ban on ticket touting and a cap on resale prices. He has called dynamic ticket pricing a 'scam'. FAC chief executive David Martin described Smith's plain-spoken approach as 'a welcome antidote' to ticketing controversies.
Musician Jordan Rakei receives the Artists' Voice Award for his candour about the realities of a music career, such as label deals and financial pressure. Portishead and Jamie Cullum had already been confirmed as recipients; nominees for Manager of the Year include Owain Davies, who manages Sam Fender.