🔗 Share this article

Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the UK's small live music spots.

Fender was awarded the prize on 16 October as his latest record the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.

The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.

"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the region, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, major artists including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous small stages across Britain.

The donation helped spaces that were facing possible closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Other venues were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The idea that revenue from performances in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.

Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.

Back when Pulp earned the prize in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the non-profit the charity.

That year, musician the artist shared her bounty across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the local youth club that supported their band, alongside other local music groups.

Also the 1994 recipients they donated their award to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the illness.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued several local spots in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.

The Joiners in that area and the other in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.