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Monday, October 12, 2026
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The artist gives twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to small concert halls

The artist accepting Mercury Prize in the North East
Sam Fender received the honor last month in the North East

The star has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the trust for venues, which works to protect the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was given the cheque on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the past year.

The musician has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his beginning days.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.

In the last year, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 small stages across the UK.

The donation helped locations that were facing imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and fans.

"The notion that money from performances in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.

Pulp members on stage
The group are one example who contributed their honor winnings to non-profits

He is among several artists to contribute his award funds to good deeds.

In they received the trophy in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Cocker announced that the act would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her prize across multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.

Previously, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

And 1994 winners the group contributed their prize to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.

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

Last week, the trust announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.

The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the buildings.

The writer

Michelle Haynes

Maya Chen is a tech journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and innovation trends.

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