Sam Fender has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the Britain's grassroots music venues.
Fender was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his latest record his work was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
He also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
The donation supported spaces that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The concept that funds from performances in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
Back when the band earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their release the album, vocalist Cocker stated that the group would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, musician the artist divided her award across several charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," the artist told the media.
Two years ago, they contributed their funds to the community center that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.
Also winners that year M People contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked singer the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected several small stages in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who acquire "shares" in the properties.
