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The musician donates £25,000 Mercury Prize to grassroots live spaces

The artist receiving the award in the North East
He was awarded the Mercury Prize in October in his hometown

The star has donated the entirety of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's small live music spots.

Fender was given the award on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the past year.

Fender has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages had in his beginning days.

"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

He also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds assisted locations that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Other venues obtained funding support in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that helped performers and audiences.

"The notion that revenue from concerts in big venues helps the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.

Pulp members on stage
The group are among the artists who gave their award funds to charity

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award winnings to good deeds.

When Pulp won the trophy in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would donate their prize money to the organization the charity.

During 2002, musician the artist split her award across a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the community center that developed their group, alongside other independent music bodies.

Also 1994 winners they contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was ample," remarked artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success affected somebody else's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued two small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.

One venue in Southampton and The Croft in that location were acquired under the community ownership program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the venues.

By

Jasmine Wilson

Maya Chen is a tech journalist and AI researcher with a decade of experience covering Silicon Valley innovations and their global impact.

ClearCorner

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