🔗 Share this article

Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which operates to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.

The star was presented with the award on mid-October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.

The musician has decided to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages had in his initial steps.

"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.

In the last year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.

He also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight local spots across the UK.

The donation assisted locations that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.

Some locations received financial assistance in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.

The musician is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.

When the band won the trophy in the mid-90s for their album the album, vocalist Cocker stated that the group would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.

In 2002, artist she shared her prize across several charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," the artist explained to the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their band, alongside other independent music bodies.

Additionally 1994 winners M People gave their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.

"The victory was quite enough," stated artist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected the lives of others."

Recently, the trust revealed it had rescued several local spots in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.