The artist gives his £25k prize cash award to independent concert halls

The artist holding his trophy in his hometown
Sam Fender received the Mercury Prize recently in his hometown

The star has given the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.

The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his new release People Watching was named the best record of the past year.

Fender has decided to give the cash to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These spaces are renowned, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.

He also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds helped venues that were dealing with possible closure due to issues caused by floods, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Some locations were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and gear that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.

"The idea that funds from concerts in major spaces supports the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has said.

Pulp in concert
Pulp are one of the many acts who gave their award winnings to good causes

He is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to good deeds.

Back when they earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman Cocker announced that the group would give their cash to the organization War Child.

During 2002, musician she shared her award across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I gave a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to the media.

Previously, they contributed their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their band, alongside other local music groups.

Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.

"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted another person's life."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had protected a couple of local spots in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The Joiners in the city and the second in the city were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the properties.

Shawna Hernandez
Shawna Hernandez

Maya is a technology writer specializing in telecommunications and digital infrastructure, with over a decade of industry experience.