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The musician donates £25,000 cash award to small concert halls

The singer receiving Mercury Prize in Newcastle
Sam Fender won the Mercury Prize recently in his hometown

The artist has donated the entirety of his £25,000 award winnings to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.

He was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his latest record his work was named the outstanding release of the previous year.

He has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across the UK.

The money assisted spaces that were facing possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.

Additional spaces received financial assistance in improving facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from performances in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.

The band Pulp performing
The group are one of the many acts who contributed their award funds to charity

Fender is not the first artist to donate his honor funds to charitable organizations.

When the band won the prize in 1996 for their record their work, lead singer Cocker announced that the band would give their winnings to the organization War Child.

In 2002, musician the artist shared her bounty among multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite told a publication.

Two years ago, the band gave their funds to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other local music groups.

Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the illness.

"The victory was quite enough," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted the lives of others."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had protected several small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.

The first in the city and the second in the city were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the properties.

The writer

Christopher Patton

A tech enthusiast and lifestyle blogger passionate about sharing practical advice for modern living and digital innovation.

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