Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the UK's small live music spots.
He was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his new release his work was chosen as the top album of the past year.
The musician has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
He also joined in, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous local spots across Britain.
The donation helped locations that were confronting possible closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in improving infrastructure and gear that helped performers and audiences.
"The notion that money from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to worthy causes.
When they received the trophy in the mid-90s for their record their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would donate their prize money to the organization the charity.
That year, artist she split her bounty across a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," the artist told the media.
Two years ago, the band gave their funds to the community center that supported their band, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," said artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved two grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
One venue in the city and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the venues.
