The musician donates his £25k prize Mercury Prize to grassroots concert halls

The singer receiving the award in his hometown
The musician was awarded the prestigious award recently in Newcastle

Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the trust for venues, which works to save the UK's small live music spots.

He was awarded the award on 16 October as his new release his work was named the outstanding release of the previous year.

The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his early career.

"I personally would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.

In the last year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money supported venues that were facing possible closure due to issues caused by flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that revenue from concerts in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.

The band Pulp on stage
Pulp are one example who donated their award winnings to charity

He is not the first artist to contribute his honor winnings to charitable organizations.

When Pulp won the prize in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman the singer announced that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her bounty among multiple good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," she shared with outlets.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the community center that nurtured their group, as well as other independent music bodies.

And winners that year the group contributed their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," remarked artist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our success touched somebody else's life."

In the past week, the trust announced it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.

Katherine James
Katherine James

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