The musician donates his £25k prize cash award to independent live spaces

The artist holding Mercury Prize in the North East
He was awarded the honor in October in Newcastle

The artist has given the full amount of his £25,000 honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to save the Britain's small concert spaces.

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

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages played in his early career.

"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Recently, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.

Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money helped venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues arising from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that helped performers and audiences.

"The notion that money from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.

Pulp in concert
They are one example who donated their Mercury Prize winnings to good causes

Fender is among several artists to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

In they received the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist the singer stated that the group would give their cash to the non-profit the charity.

During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her bounty across several organizations, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.

In recent years, they gave their prize money to the local youth club that supported their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Also winners that year the group gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the illness.

"Winning was sufficient," said artist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success affected the lives of others."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued several grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.

The Joiners in the city and The Croft in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who acquire "shares" in the venues.

Stephanie Cook
Stephanie Cook

A lifestyle writer and wellness enthusiast who shares practical tips and personal stories to inspire modern living.

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