Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the prize on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was named the top album of the previous year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have shut down – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
Back when Pulp earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record their work, vocalist Cocker announced that the group would contribute their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her bounty among a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
In recent years, the band donated their prize money to the youth organization that developed their band, as well as other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year M People gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was ample," remarked artist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued two local spots in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The first in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
