The musician donates twenty-five thousand pounds award winnings to small concert halls

The singer accepting Mercury Prize in Newcastle
He was awarded the honor recently in his hometown

The artist has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the MVT, which works to save the UK's independent concert spaces.

Fender was given the cheque on 16 October as his latest record the album was chosen as the top album of the previous year.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his initial steps.

"I wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the performances I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.

In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across Britain.

The money assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to issues caused by floods, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from shows in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has said.

The band Pulp on stage
The group are one example who contributed their Mercury Prize winnings to charity

He is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

In Pulp won the prize in 1996 for their album their work, frontman Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the charity War Child.

During 2002, musician the artist split her prize across several good causes, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she shared with the media.

In recent years, they donated their winnings to the community center that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Also winners that year the group contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the condition.

"Winning was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."

Recently, the trust announced it had protected several small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.

The first in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the properties.

Wendy Boyd
Wendy Boyd

Alex is a seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for uncovering industry trends and delivering engaging content to readers worldwide.