Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the UK's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was presented with the prize on 16 October as his third album the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
He also joined in, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges caused by floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations were granted funding support in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and fans.
"The concept that money from performances in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," the star has said.
The musician is among several artists to give his award prize money to worthy causes.
In the band earned the award in 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer announced that the group would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
In 2002, artist she divided her bounty across several charities, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners they gave their winnings to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated artist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of local spots in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in the city and the other in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
