🔗 Share this article Sam Fender contributes his £25k prize Mercury Prize to independent music venues He received the Mercury Prize recently in the North East The star has donated the entirety of his £25,000 honor winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the Britain's small live music spots. Fender was given the prize on October 16 as his new release the album was named the best record of the last 12 months. The musician has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots had in his beginning days. "I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling." Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK. Recently, well-known musicians including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls. Sam Fender also participated, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK. The donation helped locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues. Additional spaces received funding support in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and audiences. "The concept that revenue from shows in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated. Pulp are among the artists who gave their Mercury Prize winnings to non-profits He is not the first artist to donate his award winnings to charitable organizations. Back when the band won the trophy in the mid-90s for their album Different Class, frontman Cocker stated that the band would donate their cash to the organization the charity. In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite split her award between a few charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell. "And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," the artist told the media. Previously, the band contributed their funds to the local youth club that supported their act, in addition to other local music groups. Also the 1994 recipients the group donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease. "Winning was sufficient," stated singer Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory touched somebody else's life." Last week, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of small stages in that region, by placing them under public stewardship. One venue in that area and the second in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.