Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
He was given the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
He also took part, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
The money assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges caused by water damage, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in improving facilities and gear that positively impacted artists and fans.
"The concept that revenue from concerts in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
Back when the band won the trophy in 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her prize among multiple charities, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I donated a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," she told the media.
Two years ago, the band donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners the group contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued several grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
One venue in Southampton and the other in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
