The artist gives £25,000 Mercury Prize to independent music venues

The artist holding his trophy in the North East
The musician was awarded the Mercury Prize last month in his hometown

The artist has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the MVT, which functions to protect the UK's small music venues.

The star was presented with the award on October 16 as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the past year.

He has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his initial steps.

"I personally would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

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

Recently, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.

Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received monetary aid in modernizing facilities and gear that directly benefitted performers and audiences.

"The notion that funds from shows in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.

The band Pulp in concert
They are one example who gave their honor prize money to non-profits

The musician is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

In Pulp earned the trophy in 1996 for their record the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.

During 2002, musician the artist shared her prize among multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.

And the 1994 recipients they contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."

Recently, the MVT shared it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The Joiners in that area and the second in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the venues.

Crystal Hansen
Crystal Hansen

A tech enthusiast and software developer with over 8 years of experience in AI and web technologies, passionate about sharing knowledge.