Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's small music venues.
Fender was given the cheque on October 16 as his new release the album was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported venues that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The idea that funds from shows in big venues helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.
He is among several artists to give his honor prize money to good deeds.
In Pulp received the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would donate their prize money to the organization War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist divided her prize across a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I donated a grand to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite told the media.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," said singer Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved two small stages in that region, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in the city were bought under the community ownership program, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the venues.
