Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
Fender was given the cheque on mid-October as his third album the album was named the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has decided to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"I would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
He also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 small stages across Britain.
The money assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues were granted funding support in upgrading infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
When they won the award in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer stated that the act would contribute their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her award across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed updated gear," Ms Dynamite told the media.
In recent years, the band gave their winnings to the community center that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients M People gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated singer Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory affected the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved several small stages in that region, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in that area and the second in the city were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
