Sam Fender contributes his £25k prize award winnings to independent music venues

The artist receiving the award in his hometown
Sam Fender was awarded the honor in October in Newcastle

Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k award prize money to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.

He was presented with the award on October 16 as his third album his work was named the outstanding release of the previous year.

He has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

Sam Fender also participated, generating over £100k on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across Britain.

The donation helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues were granted funding support in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.

"The notion that money from performances in major spaces helps the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has commented.

Pulp performing
Pulp are among the artists who donated their award funds to non-profits

The musician is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

Back when the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their album the album, vocalist the singer declared that the act would contribute their prize money to the non-profit War Child.

In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her award across a few charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

And the 1994 recipients M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the disease.

"Winning was ample," remarked vocalist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted the lives of others."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.

One venue in that area and the second in that location were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.

Benjamin Miller
Benjamin Miller

A digital culture analyst with a background in media studies, passionate about uncovering emerging trends and their societal impacts.