Sam Fender has donated his total £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to help “struggling” grassroots venues.
The singer-songwriter, from North Shields, mentioned he needed to indicate help for the Music Venue Belief and smaller venues, which supplied an important platform for him when he was beginning out.
Fender was named the winner of this yr’s Mercury Prize at a ceremony in his house metropolis of Newcastle – the primary time the occasion had ever been held exterior London – in October, for his critically acclaimed third album, Individuals Watching.
“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,” the 31-year-old mentioned. “These venues are legendary, but they are struggling.”
Picture:
Pic: PA
The Music Venue Belief, which represents lots of of the UK’s grassroots venues, says they operated on a revenue margin of simply 0.48% in 2024, with a couple of in 4 reporting a loss.
Fender beforehand helped to boost greater than £100,000, which went to help 38 smaller venues throughout England, Scotland and Wales, via his 2024 enviornment tour.
Different artists, together with Katy Perry, Coldplay, Pulp and Enter Shikari, have additionally adopted the grassroots levy, including small quantities to ticket costs to donate to the sector. Bigger venues such because the Royal Albert Corridor in London have additionally launched the levy.
Since 2023, greater than 150 smaller venues have been pressured to shut resulting from rising prices and the continuing results of the pandemic, in keeping with the belief.
Mark Davyd, the charity’s founder and chief govt, mentioned Fender donating the Mercury Prize winnings was “an incredible gesture”, displaying that artists “absolutely understand how vital grassroots music venues are to their careers and to their communities”.
He continued: “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.”
Fender beat artists together with Fontaines DC, FKA Twigs and former winners Pulp and Wolf Alice to choose up this yr’s Mercury Prize. His second album, Seventeen Going Underneath, was additionally nominated in 2022, when the award was received by Little Simz.
Judges mentioned Individuals Watching felt “like a classic album, one that will take pride of place in record collections for years to come”.
