Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
He was presented with the prize on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was named the top album of the past year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.
The money supported spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from performances in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his award prize money to worthy causes.
Back when they won the award in the mid-90s for their album their work, lead singer Cocker announced that the band would donate their winnings to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty among several charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," she explained to a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their band, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also 1994 winners they contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," stated singer Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success touched somebody else's life."
Last week, the MVT shared it had rescued several small stages in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in that location were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
