The musician gives twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to grassroots concert halls

Sam Fender accepting the award in his hometown
The musician was awarded the prestigious award last month in his hometown

The artist has given the entirety of his £25,000 award winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the UK's independent concert spaces.

He was presented with the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was chosen as the top album of the past year.

He has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his early career.

"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.

He also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist 38 small stages across Britain.

The money assisted venues that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties caused by flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.

Additional spaces were granted funding support in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.

"The concept that money from concerts in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.

The band Pulp in concert
Pulp are one example who donated their award prize money to non-profits

He is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

In they received the award in the mid-90s for their release their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would give their cash to the organization the charity.

That year, rapper and singer she shared her prize between a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.

In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the youth organization that developed their group, in addition to other local music groups.

Also the 1994 recipients the group gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.

"The victory was ample," stated singer Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory affected the lives of others."

In the past week, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of local spots in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The Joiners in the city and the other in that location were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.

Michael Foley
Michael Foley

Marcus is an industrial energy specialist with over 15 years of experience in battery technology and sustainable power solutions.