Sam Fender gives £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to small music venues

Sam Fender has donated his entire £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust (MVT), which works to protect the UK’s grassroots music venues.

A check was presented to the star on October 16, as his third album, People Watching, was chosen as the best album of the last 12 months.

Recognizing the vital role grassroots venues played in the early years of his career, he decided to pass the buck on to MVT.

“I wouldn’t be doing what I do today if it wasn’t for all the gigs I played in the North East and beyond in the beginning,” Fender said. “These places are legendary, but they are struggling.”

Since the beginning of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed their doors; this equates to around 16% of the UK industry.

Last year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran supported MVT’s stage-keeping efforts to help smaller concert venues by adding a small tax to ticket prices.

Fender has also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on the 2024 arena tour to support 38 venues in England, Scotland and Wales.

The money helped venues facing difficulties caused by floods, fires and deaths, as well as venues that were about to close due to licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues received financial assistance to upgrade facilities and technical equipment, directly benefiting artists and audiences.

“The idea that money from shows at big venues supports the smaller venues where it all started for musicians like me is common sense,” Fender said.

He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize to worthy causes.

When Pulp won the award for their album Different Class in 1996, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would donate the prize money to the charity War Child.

In 2002, rapper and singer Miss Dynamite split her award between several good causes, including the NSPCC and the Sickle Cell charity.

“And I donated a grand to my local community centre, Highgate Newtown, for gymnastics lessons because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment.” he told the Guardian in 2013.

Two years ago Ezra Collective gave its profits to the local youth club that feeds its bands, among other grassroots music organisations.

And 1994 winners M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed with the disease.

“Winning was pretty enough,” said singer Heather Small. “The money was the cherry on top, but we didn’t need the cherry because the cake was ours. So our win touched someone else’s life.”

Last week MVT announced this Saved two public venues in south-east Englandby bringing them into community ownership.

The Carpenters in Southampton and the Croft in Bristol were purchased as part of the Keep Our Places initiative, supported by Arts Council England and music fans who bought “shares” in the properties.