Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which operates to save the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots had in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
He also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 local spots across the UK.
These funds assisted locations that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues caused by floods, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations received monetary aid in improving amenities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
Fender is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
In Pulp earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their release the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her bounty across several charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
Two years ago, the band donated their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"The victory was ample," remarked artist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning touched another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
One venue in that area and the other in that location were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by a national body and music fans who purchase "shares" in the properties.
