Skip to content
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Descubre consejos prácticos para una vida equilibrada, con …

The artist donates his £25k prize award winnings to independent concert halls

The artist accepting his trophy in the North East
The musician received the prestigious award recently in his hometown

The star has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which functions to protect the Britain's independent concert spaces.

Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the past year.

The musician has decided to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his early career.

"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.

Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK.

The money assisted locations that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues caused by water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.

Additional spaces received funding support in improving infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.

"The notion that funds from concerts in large arenas supports the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.

Pulp on stage
They are among the artists who donated their Mercury Prize funds to good causes

He is far from the only musician to donate his honor winnings to charitable organizations.

In they won the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite divided her prize across a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.

Previously, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the youth organization that supported their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.

And winners that year they gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched somebody else's life."

Recently, the trust revealed it had rescued several small stages in the South East, by bringing them into local control.

The first in the city and The Croft in that location were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.

Written by

Samantha Wise

Escritora apasionada por el bienestar y la sostenibilidad, compartiendo experiencias para inspirar un estilo de vida más consciente.

Vida Momento

Type to search articles.