The musician contributes £25,000 award winnings to small live spaces

Sam Fender receiving Mercury Prize in the North East
Sam Fender received the honor recently in his hometown

The artist has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which operates to save the United Kingdom's independent live music spots.

Fender was presented with the award on 16 October as his new release the album was named the best record of the past year.

The musician has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.

"I would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to assist 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.

Additional spaces received funding support in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that helped musicians and fans.

"The notion that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

The band Pulp on stage
The group are among the artists who contributed their award winnings to charity

He is among several artists to contribute his award winnings to worthy causes.

When they earned the prize in 1996 for their album the album, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would give their prize money to the organization the charity.

During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her prize among multiple organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite told the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

And the 1994 recipients the group donated their award to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the disease.

"Winning was sufficient," said singer Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our success touched the lives of others."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.

The first in Southampton and the second in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the venues.

Tammie Fowler
Tammie Fowler

Maya Sterling is a sports journalist and event reviewer with over a decade of experience covering UK entertainment venues.