Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's grassroots live music spots.
He was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was named the top album of the past year.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation assisted spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues received financial assistance in upgrading amenities and gear that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from concerts in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
He is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to good deeds.
Back when the band won the trophy in 1996 for their record Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would donate their prize money to the organization the charity.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her bounty between several organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," the artist told the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the youth organization that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also winners that year the group gave their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.
"The victory was sufficient," stated artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved a couple of small stages in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The first in Southampton and the second in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
