🔗 Share this article

The artist has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.

The star was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his latest record his work was named the best record of the last 12 months.

He has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his initial steps.

"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 grassroots venues across the UK.

The money helped locations that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.

Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing amenities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and fans.

"The idea that funds from concerts in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has said.

He is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

In Pulp received the prize in the mid-90s for their album the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would give their prize money to the charity War Child.

During 2002, artist the artist divided her bounty among several organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.

Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that developed their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.

And the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the condition.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated artist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our success affected another person's life."

Recently, the trust shared it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.

One venue in that area and the other in that location were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.