Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was awarded the prize on 16 October as his latest record his work was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I did around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across Britain.
These funds helped locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that helped artists and audiences.
"The idea that money from performances in large arenas helps the local stages, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
In the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist the singer stated that the band would give their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist divided her prize among a few charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," she explained to a publication.
Previously, they donated their prize money to the community center that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year the group gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the disease.
"The victory was ample," stated artist the singer. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning affected another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the buildings.
