The musician donates twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to small live spaces

Sam Fender accepting Mercury Prize in the North East
The musician was awarded the Mercury Prize last month in Newcastle

The star has given the entirety of his £25,000 honor cash to the trust for venues, which works to save the Britain's independent concert spaces.

The star was presented with the prize on 16 October as his new release his work was named the outstanding release of the past year.

He has decided to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues had in his initial steps.

"I personally would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.

Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support 38 local spots across the UK.

These funds helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received monetary aid in improving facilities and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The notion that revenue from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.

Pulp members in concert
The group are among the artists who donated their honor winnings to non-profits

Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

In the band earned the prize in 1996 for their album their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would give their cash to the organization War Child.

During 2002, musician she divided her bounty between multiple charities, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with outlets.

Two years ago, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their group, in addition to other local music groups.

Also 1994 winners the group contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the condition.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," said singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."

In the past week, the trust shared it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.

One venue in the city and the second in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the properties.

Donna Warren
Donna Warren

A passionate gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering console and PC titles, specializing in indie game analysis and industry trends.