Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
He was given the prize on 16 October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part small stages played in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped locations that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in big venues backs the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
Fender is among several artists to donate his honor winnings to worthy causes.
When the band received the prize in the mid-90s for their release their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
During 2002, musician she divided her award among a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," she told a publication.
In recent years, they gave their funds to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients the group donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had rescued several small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in that area and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
