Sam Fender has donated all of his Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust. The singer-songwriter won this year’s award for his third album ‘People Watching’. Today, it has been announced that he has donated his £25,000 cash prize to the Music Venue Trust (MVT), which represents hundreds of the UK’s grassroots music venues, and highlights the importance of struggling small gig spaces in the UK.
The funds will help support the charity’s work to protect and secure the future of live music spaces across the nation. Sam Fender recognised the role that grassroots venues have played in his early career, saying, “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.”
CEO and founder of MVT Mark Davyd said, “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”
Sam Fender’s recent UK and Ireland tour dates saw him donate £1 from each ticket sold to the Music Venue Trust. His arena shows in 2024 raised more than £100,000 for the charity’s Liveline Fund to support 38 different grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
Sam explained that, “It’s brilliant to see that the money raised from the arena tour is making a real difference to so many venues. The grassroots circuit has been decimated over the last 10 years or so, and the idea that money from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense.”
Last week, it was announced that both The Joiners and The Croft, two grassroots music venues, had been saved by the National Trust of venues, Music Venue Properties. It was first announced by MVT in May 2022, and the campaign raised £2.3 million in the first year through donations and investments. That figure now stands at almost £4 million.
Other major acts like Coldplay and Katy Perry have adopted the levy and donated a portion of ticket sales to help save grassroots venues. In spring, it was reported that UK tour ticket contributions had raised £500,000 for grassroots spaces. A report published earlier this year found that over 90 per cent of music fans were supportive of the £1 ticket levy.
When speaking with NME, Prime Minister Kier Starmer said, “I’m very supportive of this initiative, the £1 levy going back into grassroots [venues], because so much of our music is grassroots.”
