Sam Fender gives twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to grassroots music venues

The singer receiving Mercury Prize in the North East
The musician received the Mercury Prize in October in his hometown

The star has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots music venues.

The star was given the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the best record of the previous year.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his early career.

"I personally would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

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

Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.

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

The donation helped venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.

Other venues obtained funding support in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.

"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has said.

The band Pulp performing
They are one of the many acts who donated their Mercury Prize prize money to charity

Fender is not the first artist to donate his honor winnings to worthy causes.

Back when the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their record the album, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would give their cash to the charity the charity.

During 2002, rapper and singer the artist shared her bounty among a few good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," the artist shared with a publication.

In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.

And 1994 winners the group gave their award to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the illness.

"Receiving the award was ample," stated artist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success affected somebody else's life."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved two local spots in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.

One venue in Southampton and the second in Bristol were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "shares" in the venues.

Corey Mendez
Corey Mendez

A digital strategist and tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in web development and emerging technologies.