Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
The star was given the award on October 16 as his latest record the album was declared the top album of the previous year.
He has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues had in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money assisted venues that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in upgrading amenities and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
When Pulp earned the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would give their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her award among a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed updated gear," the artist explained to a publication.
In recent years, the band contributed their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients the group donated their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked artist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
Recently, the trust revealed it had protected a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in Southampton and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by a national body and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
