🔗 Share this article

The star has handed over the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's independent music venues.

Fender was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the best record of the previous year.

The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his early career.

"I couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.

Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to assist 38 local spots across the UK.

These funds assisted locations that were dealing with possible closure due to issues caused by water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.

Some locations obtained funding support in upgrading facilities and gear that directly benefitted performers and audiences.

"The idea that funds from performances in large arenas helps the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his honor prize money to good deeds.

Back when the band won the trophy in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker declared that the act would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.

That year, rapper and singer she shared her bounty across several charities, such as the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," the artist shared with outlets.

In recent years, the band donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their act, alongside other independent music bodies.

Additionally winners that year M People contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the illness.

"The victory was quite enough," said artist Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success affected another person's life."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved a couple of small stages in that region, by bringing them into local control.

One venue in Southampton and the second in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the venues.