Music Charity 'Honoured' After Sam Fender Donates Entire Mercury Prize Winnings

Sam Fender on stage in Denmark over the summerSam Fender has announced he is donating his entire Mercury Prize winnings to an organisation aiming to fund and preserve some of the UK’s smaller, grassroots music venues.Each year, the Mercury Prize is awarded to the British or Irish artist decided by a judging panel to have released the best album of the past year, with the winner receiving a cash prize of £25,000.Back in October, Sam was awarded the title for his third album People Watching, with the likes of CMAT, FKA Twigs, Pulp, Fontaines D.C., Wolf Alice and PinkPantheress also in the running for this year’s prize.On Tuesday morning, the Seventeen Going Under singer announced his intention to give his £25,000 prize money to the registered charity the Music Venue Trust (MVT), which says it “acts to protect, secure and improve UK Grassroots music venues for the benefit of venues, communities and upcoming artists”.The Geordie musician said: “I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today if it wasn’t for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out. These venues are legendary, but they are struggling.”BBC News reported that Sam previously helped raise £100,000 for MVT on his 2024 arena tour, as part of an initiative that acts like Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Katy Perry and fellow Mercury Prize nominees Pulp were also involved in.The founder of MVT Mark Davyd enthused: “This is an incredible gesture by Sam, demonstrating once again that artists absolutely understand how vital grassroots music venues are to their careers and to their communities.“We are honoured to accept this donation and will ensure every penny of it makes a direct difference to the campaign to keep live music at the heart of our towns and cities.”Many other musicians have also donated their Mercury Prize money to charitable organisations, including Ms Dynamite, M People and Pulp.MORE MUSIC:9 More Confessional And Revelatory Break-Up Albums If You Loved Lily Allen's West End Girl20 Years Ago Madonna Silenced Her Critics With Her Best Album Ever – I Can’t Wait For Her To Do It AgainPop Fans Raise Complaint About The BBC's Girlbands Forever Documentary

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