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The musician contributes his £25k prize Mercury Prize to grassroots music venues

The artist holding his trophy in Newcastle
The musician was awarded the Mercury Prize in October in the North East

The star has given the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the UK's small live music spots.

The star was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his new release People Watching was named the best record of the previous year.

He has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages played in his early career.

"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.

The donation assisted venues that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Additional spaces received monetary aid in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.

"The concept that money from performances in major spaces backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.

Pulp in concert
The group are one of the many acts who gave their honor funds to good causes

The musician is among several artists to give his honor winnings to good deeds.

When Pulp received the trophy in the year 1996 for their release the album, frontman the singer announced that the band would contribute their winnings to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, artist the artist split her award among several organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told a publication.

In recent years, the band contributed their funds to the community center that developed their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally the 1994 recipients they contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the condition.

"The victory was quite enough," said singer Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted another person's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved several grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.

By

Jennifer Smith

A tech enthusiast and software developer with over 8 years of experience in AI and web technologies, passionate about sharing knowledge.

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