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Sam Fender donates his £25k prize Mercury Prize to independent music venues

The singer accepting the award in the North East
Sam Fender was awarded the honor in October in the North East

The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25k honor cash to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots music venues.

The star was awarded the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was named the outstanding release of the previous year.

The musician has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots played in his beginning days.

"I would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

He also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across the UK.

The donation supported venues that were facing possible closure due to difficulties caused by flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Some locations obtained monetary aid in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and audiences.

"The notion that funds from shows in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.

Pulp in concert
The group are one example who donated their award winnings to good causes

The musician is among several artists to donate his honor funds to good deeds.

When the band won the award in the mid-90s for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would donate their cash to the organization War Child.

That year, artist she split her prize between multiple good causes, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," the artist shared with the media.

Previously, the band donated their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their group, alongside other independent music bodies.

And the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.

"Winning was quite enough," remarked vocalist Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."

Last week, the trust announced it had saved a couple of local spots in the South East, by bringing them into local control.

The first in that area and the other in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.

By

Tammy Green

Tech journalist and futurist with over a decade of experience covering AI, startups, and emerging technologies.

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