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The artist donates £25,000 award winnings to independent concert halls

The singer accepting his trophy in Newcastle
Sam Fender was awarded the Mercury Prize in October in Newcastle

The artist has donated the full amount of his £25k award prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to save the Britain's small concert spaces.

He was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.

The musician has decided to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role local spots had in his early career.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds assisted locations that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.

Some locations received funding support in upgrading facilities and gear that helped artists and audiences.

"The notion that money from shows in big venues supports the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.

The band Pulp on stage
The group are among the artists who donated their Mercury Prize prize money to charity

The musician is not the first artist to give his honor winnings to worthy causes.

In Pulp earned the prize in the year 1996 for their release the album, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her award between a few good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," she told outlets.

Two years ago, they donated their funds to the community center that supported their group, alongside other local music groups.

Also 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the disease.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected another person's life."

In the past week, the MVT revealed it had saved several local spots in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the venues.

JA
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Joseph Allen

A passionate gaming journalist and tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience covering UK entertainment trends.

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