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Thursday, October 15, 2026
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The artist donates his £25k prize award winnings to independent live spaces

Sam Fender holding the award in Newcastle
The musician received the honor last month in the North East

The star has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the UK's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was given the cheque on October 16 as his new release his work was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages had in his initial steps.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to assist 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds assisted venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.

Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.

"The idea that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has stated.

Pulp members performing
Pulp are one of the many acts who donated their award prize money to charity

Fender is far from the only musician to give his honor funds to charitable organizations.

In they received the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.

That year, musician the artist divided her prize across a few charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I gave a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," she explained to the media.

In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Also the 1994 recipients the group contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the condition.

"The victory was sufficient," remarked singer the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted the lives of others."

Last week, the trust revealed it had saved two grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.

One venue in Southampton and the other in that location were bought under the public acquisition program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the properties.

Written by

David Rangel

Maya Chen is a seasoned sports analyst and betting strategist with over a decade of experience in the Canadian gaming industry.

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