Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the Britain's independent music venues.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his new release the album was named the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across the UK.
The donation helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges arising from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and gear that helped artists and fans.
"The notion that money from performances in big venues backs the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
In they earned the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, vocalist Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her bounty among multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.
Previously, the band donated their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their act, alongside other local music groups.
And 1994 winners the group gave their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"The victory was sufficient," said artist Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had saved several local spots in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in the city were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
