Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his third album his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has decided to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.
He also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 grassroots venues across the UK.
The money assisted locations that were confronting possible closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations received funding support in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The idea that money from performances in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his award winnings to good deeds.
Back when the band won the award in the mid-90s for their record the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her bounty across several charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other independent music bodies.
And winners that year the group donated their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the condition.
"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved two grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in the city and The Croft in the city were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
