Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.
The star was given the prize on October 16 as his new release his work was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported spaces that were confronting possible closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from shows in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
He is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.
When they won the prize in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman the singer stated that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her award across a few good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, they donated their prize money to the local youth club that supported their act, as well as other local music groups.
Also winners that year they gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," said singer the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning affected the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued several small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and the other in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
