🔗 Share this article

Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25k honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small live music spots.

The star was given the prize on October 16 as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.

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

"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

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

Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.

Sam Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and audiences.

"The concept that funds from performances in large arenas helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.

He is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.

Back when the band received the prize in 1996 for their release their work, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would give their winnings to the organization the charity.

In 2002, musician the artist split her bounty across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they needed updated gear," she explained to outlets.

Previously, the band contributed their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally the 1994 recipients the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.

"The victory was sufficient," said artist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched somebody else's life."

Recently, the MVT announced it had saved a couple of local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and the second in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.