Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
The star was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his latest record his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages had in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
The donation supported locations that were confronting possible closure due to issues caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces received funding support in upgrading facilities and gear that helped performers and fans.
"The notion that money from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
In the band won the trophy in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her prize among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," she told outlets.
In recent years, the band contributed their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had rescued two small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
One venue in that area and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.
