🔗 Share this article

The star has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the UK's grassroots music venues.

The star was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his new release People Watching was named the top album of the previous year.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages had in his early career.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the shows I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Recently, top acts including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds assisted locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in modernizing amenities and gear that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The concept that funds from concerts in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has said.

The musician is far from the only musician to give his award prize money to good deeds.

Back when Pulp won the trophy in 1996 for their release the album, vocalist the singer declared that the band would give their cash to the charity War Child.

During 2002, musician the artist shared her award across several good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.

In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the local youth club that developed their group, in addition to other local music groups.

Additionally the 1994 recipients they gave their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.

"The victory was quite enough," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."

Last week, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of small stages in that region, by placing them under community ownership.

One venue in the city and the other in the city were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is funded by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "stakes" in the properties.