Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the UK's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his third album his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots played in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported venues that were facing possible closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations received funding support in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from shows in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
Fender is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.
In the band received the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer stated that the act would donate their winnings to the organization the charity.
During 2002, artist she divided her bounty among a few organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she told a publication.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners M People contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the MVT announced it had saved several local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the properties.
