🔗 Share this article Sam Fender donates twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to independent live spaces Sam Fender received the honor recently in his hometown The artist has donated the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces. He was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the past year. He has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his beginning days. "I wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling." Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector. In the last year, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls. He also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales. The donation supported locations that were facing imminent closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues. Some locations obtained funding support in upgrading amenities and gear that helped artists and audiences. "The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces backs the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has said. Pulp are one of the many acts who gave their honor winnings to non-profits Fender is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds. When Pulp won the trophy in the year 1996 for their release the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would contribute their prize money to the charity the charity. That year, musician she shared her prize among several charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell. "And I contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," she shared with outlets. Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations. And winners that year the group gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the disease. "Receiving the award was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected another person's life." In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved several grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership. The Joiners in the city and the other in Bristol were bought under the community ownership program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the venues.