The artist contributes twenty-five thousand pounds Mercury Prize to independent music venues

The artist holding his trophy in his hometown
Sam Fender was awarded the honor last month in his hometown

The artist has given the complete sum of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.

The star was awarded the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was named the best record of the previous year.

Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots had in his early career.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds helped venues that were confronting possible closure due to difficulties caused by floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.

Other venues were granted funding support in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and fans.

"The idea that money from concerts in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has stated.

The band Pulp on stage
They are among the artists who contributed their Mercury Prize prize money to good causes

The musician is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to good deeds.

When the band earned the award in 1996 for their release their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.

That year, musician Ms Dynamite shared her bounty across multiple good causes, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also donated a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite told the media.

Previously, they gave their winnings to the youth organization that supported their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.

And 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.

"Winning was ample," remarked singer Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success touched somebody else's life."

In the past week, the MVT announced it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.

One venue in the city and the second in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "shares" in the properties.

Gary Singleton
Gary Singleton

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