Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the Britain's independent music venues.
The star was given the award on 16 October as his latest record his work was declared the best record of the previous year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part local spots played in his initial steps.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight local spots across the UK.
The money assisted venues that were confronting possible closure due to issues arising from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in improving facilities and technical equipment that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
The musician is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When Pulp won the prize in the mid-90s for their release their work, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would give their winnings to the organization the charity.
During 2002, musician she split her bounty among a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," she told a publication.
Two years ago, the band gave their funds to the local youth club that developed their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners the group gave their award to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said vocalist the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in the city and the second in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
