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The musician donates £25,000 Mercury Prize to small live spaces

Sam Fender holding the award in the North East
He was awarded the Mercury Prize in October in his hometown

The star has handed over the complete sum of his £25k award cash to the MVT, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.

He was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.

He has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his initial steps.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I played around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.

Fender also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 local spots across the UK.

The donation helped spaces that were facing possible closure due to issues arising from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing facilities and gear that positively impacted performers and concertgoers.

"The concept that funds from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.

The band Pulp on stage
They are among the artists who contributed their honor funds to non-profits

The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his honor prize money to charitable organizations.

Back when Pulp won the trophy in the year 1996 for their release the album, vocalist the singer declared that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.

That year, musician she divided her award across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.

Two years ago, the band donated their winnings to the youth organization that supported their act, as well as other local music groups.

And the 1994 recipients the group contributed their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the disease.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," said singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."

Last week, the MVT shared it had saved several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.

One venue in the city and the second in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.

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Gina Bradley

Elena is a finance enthusiast and blogger who tests cashback platforms to help UK users find genuine opportunities.

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