Fender gives £25,000 Mercury cash to small venues

Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust (MVT), which works to preserve the UK's grassroots music venues.

The star was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was named the best record of the last 12 months.

He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his early career.

"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed their doors – about 16% of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Enter Shikari and Ed Sheeran have all supported the grassroots scene by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Fender also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues received financial assistance in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.

"The idea that money from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.

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

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

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

"And I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," she told the Guardian in 2013.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

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

"Winning was quite enough," said singer Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."

Last week, the MVT announced it had saved two grassroots venues in the south of England, by bringing them into community ownership.

The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "shares" in the properties.