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Wednesday, October 7, 2026
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The musician donates £25,000 cash award to grassroots music venues

The artist receiving the award in Newcastle
The musician was awarded the honor last month in the North East

The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25k award cash to the MVT, which operates to save the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.

The star was given the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was named the top album of the previous year.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues had in his initial steps.

"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

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

Over the past year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across the UK.

The money assisted venues that were facing imminent closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that positively impacted musicians and audiences.

"The idea that money from concerts in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.

Pulp on stage
Pulp are one of the many acts who contributed their honor funds to non-profits

Fender is among several artists to donate his award winnings to good deeds.

When they received the award in the mid-90s for their release their work, vocalist the singer declared that the group would give their winnings to the charity the charity.

In 2002, artist the artist divided her award across several charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," the artist explained to outlets.

In recent years, they gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their band, as well as other local music groups.

Also 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the illness.

"The victory was quite enough," stated vocalist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory touched another person's life."

In the past week, the trust revealed it had protected a couple of local spots in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

The first in that area and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.

Written by

Matthew Haley

A data scientist specializing in AI ethics and machine learning applications, with over a decade of industry experience.

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