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Sam Fender donates his £25k prize cash award to small music venues

Sam Fender holding his trophy in the North East
The musician won the prestigious award last month in Newcastle

The artist has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the UK's grassroots live music spots.

He was awarded the award on October 16 as his latest record his work was named the top album of the last 12 months.

He has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots played in his initial steps.

"I personally would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which benefits independent venues.

Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK.

The money helped locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Other venues received monetary aid in improving amenities and technical equipment that helped artists and audiences.

"The concept that funds from concerts in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.

The band Pulp performing
They are among the artists who gave their Mercury Prize winnings to non-profits

The musician is not the first artist to contribute his honor prize money to good deeds.

When Pulp earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record their work, lead singer the singer announced that the band would donate their cash to the non-profit the charity.

During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty across a few charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the community center that developed their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

And the 1994 recipients M People contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was ample," remarked vocalist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success impacted the lives of others."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had saved several small stages in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

One venue in Southampton and The Croft in that location were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.

The writer

Jennifer Davis

A tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in analyzing emerging technologies and their impact on society.

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