Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
The star was awarded the award on mid-October as his latest record the album was chosen as the top album of the past year.
He has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part small stages had in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about 16% of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues obtained funding support in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.
"The idea that funds from shows in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
In they received the trophy in the year 1996 for their release their work, vocalist the singer declared that the band would give their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer she shared her award among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," she told outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year the group gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the trust announced it had protected several grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
The first in the city and the second in the city were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the properties.
