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The musician contributes his £25k prize cash award to independent concert halls

Sam Fender holding the award in Newcastle
He was awarded the honor last month in the North East

The star has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's grassroots concert spaces.

The star was awarded the award on 16 October as his new release People Watching was named the outstanding release of the past year.

He has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his early career.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across the UK.

These funds helped locations that were confronting possible closure due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.

"The notion that funds from performances in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.

Pulp members performing
Pulp are one of the many acts who contributed their Mercury Prize prize money to charity

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

When Pulp won the prize in 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would donate their prize money to the charity the charity.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her award among multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.

Two years ago, the band gave their prize money to the local youth club that supported their group, alongside other local music groups.

Also winners that year M People gave their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the disease.

"Winning was ample," remarked singer the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected another person's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved two small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in Southampton and the other in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "shares" in the buildings.

Written by

Edward Williams

A tech enthusiast and web developer with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and content creation.

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