The artist donates his £25k prize Mercury Prize to small music venues

The artist accepting Mercury Prize in his hometown
He received the prestigious award recently in his hometown

The star has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the MVT, which operates to save the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.

The star was presented with the award on 16 October as his new release his work was chosen as the best record of the past year.

Fender has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.

"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.

He also participated, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to help 38 grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds assisted venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues arising from floods, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Some locations obtained monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and fans.

"The concept that funds from performances in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has said.

Pulp in concert
The group are among the artists who gave their Mercury Prize funds to charity

The musician is not the first artist to contribute his award prize money to good deeds.

When Pulp won the award in 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer she split her bounty across a few charities, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," the artist shared with outlets.

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

And the 1994 recipients they donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.

"Receiving the award was ample," said artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected another person's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved several grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under local control.

The Joiners in the city and the other in the city were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the venues.

Mr. Joshua Williams
Mr. Joshua Williams

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering industry trends and providing detailed game analysis.