Sam Fender donates £25,000 Mercury Prize to grassroots live spaces
Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's small live music spots.
He was given the prize on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I did around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges arising from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.
Some locations received monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and fans.
"The idea that funds from concerts in big venues backs the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
He is among several artists to contribute his award prize money to charitable organizations.
In the band earned the prize in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Cocker declared that the group would give their prize money to the organization the charity.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her bounty among several charities, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.
Two years ago, they donated their prize money to the community center that supported their act, as well as other local music groups.
Also 1994 winners they gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.
"Winning was ample," remarked singer Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
The first in Southampton and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.