Sam Fender donates twenty-five thousand pounds Mercury Prize to small live spaces

The artist accepting Mercury Prize in his hometown
The musician received the prestigious award in October in his hometown

The artist has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's independent music venues.

Fender was presented with the prize on mid-October as his latest record his work was chosen as the best record of the past year.

Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his initial steps.

"I would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.

Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight local spots across the UK.

The money supported locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that helped performers and fans.

"The notion that revenue from shows in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.

Pulp members in concert
The group are among the artists who contributed their award funds to charity

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award funds to charitable organizations.

In they won the award in the year 1996 for their album their work, lead singer the singer declared that the band would give their prize money to the charity the charity.

During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," the artist told a publication.

Previously, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

And 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the disease.

"Winning was ample," stated vocalist Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected the lives of others."

In the past week, the trust revealed it had saved two small stages in the South East, by bringing them into local control.

One venue in that area and the other in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.

Jordan Bonilla
Jordan Bonilla

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casino trends and strategy development.