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Sam Fender contributes £25,000 award winnings to grassroots live spaces

The artist receiving the award in the North East
The musician received the Mercury Prize last month in the North East

The artist has donated the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the MVT, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent music venues.

The star was given the prize on October 16 as his new release the album was named the best record of the past year.

Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots had in his initial steps.

"I would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Recently, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds helped locations that were facing potential shutdown due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.

Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and fans.

"The concept that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.

The band Pulp performing
Pulp are one example who donated their Mercury Prize prize money to non-profits

Fender is among several artists to contribute his award funds to charitable organizations.

When they received the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, vocalist the singer declared that the band would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.

In 2002, musician she shared her prize between a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also gave a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," the artist shared with the media.

Two years ago, the band gave their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Additionally winners that year they donated their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.

"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success affected somebody else's life."

Last week, the trust shared it had rescued a couple of local spots in that region, by placing them under community ownership.

One venue in that area and the second in the city were bought under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the venues.

Written by

Anthony Young

A seasoned betting analyst with over a decade of experience in the Canadian gambling industry, specializing in odds analysis and responsible gaming.

Central Bets Canada

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