Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was given the cheque on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues had in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like 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 ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across Britain.
The donation supported venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and fans.
"The idea that revenue from performances in large arenas backs the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his honor prize money to good deeds.
When the band received the prize in the mid-90s for their record the album, frontman the singer stated that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite split her prize across a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
Two years ago, they gave their prize money to the youth organization that developed their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"The victory was ample," stated artist Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of small stages in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
