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Sam Fender gives his £25k prize award winnings to grassroots concert halls

Sam Fender accepting Mercury Prize in his hometown
He received the prestigious award recently in the North East

The star has given the complete sum of his £25k honor cash to the trust for venues, which works to save the Britain's independent live music spots.

He was awarded the prize on 16 October as his new release his work was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.

Fender has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his initial steps.

"I couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

He also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation supported venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges caused by floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Other venues obtained monetary aid in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The idea that money from shows in major spaces supports the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.

Pulp in concert
They are one example who contributed their award winnings to good causes

Fender is among several artists to give his award prize money to good deeds.

When Pulp earned the prize in 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker announced that the group would donate their cash to the charity the charity.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her award across several good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist explained to the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their band, alongside other independent music bodies.

Also 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the illness.

"The victory was quite enough," said singer Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success touched the lives of others."

In the past week, the trust shared it had rescued several grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.

One venue in that area and the other in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "shares" in the venues.

Written by

Sophia Evans

Digital strategist with over a decade of experience in helping brands scale through innovative marketing techniques.

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