The musician gives his £25k prize Mercury Prize to independent music venues

Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k award cash to the MVT, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was given the award on mid-October as his latest record the album was declared the top album of the past year.

Fender has decided to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his initial steps.

"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the performances I did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.

He also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation helped spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.

Some locations obtained monetary aid in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and audiences.

"The notion that funds from concerts in big venues helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.

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

In the band earned the award in 1996 for their record their work, lead singer Cocker declared that the band would donate their cash to the organization War Child.

That year, rapper and singer she split her award among a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite told a publication.

Previously, the band contributed their prize money to the local youth club that supported their group, in addition to other local music groups.

And 1994 winners the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the disease.

"The victory was sufficient," stated vocalist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched another person's life."

Last week, the MVT announced it had rescued several small stages in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

The first in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the venues.