Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
The star was given the cheque on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
He has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots had in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Recently, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
He also participated, generating over £100k on his live tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.
The donation supported spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties caused by flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted monetary aid in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The idea that funds from concerts in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
The musician is far from the only musician to donate his award funds to charitable organizations.
When the band received the award in 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their prize money to the charity War Child.
During 2002, artist she shared her award among multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their act, alongside other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients the group donated their award to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked artist Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success affected another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had rescued two small stages in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in the city and The Croft in the city were acquired under the community ownership program, which is funded by a national body and music fans who purchase "shares" in the buildings.
