Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
The star was awarded the award on mid-October as his new release his work was declared the top album of the past year.
The musician has decided to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.
In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 local spots across Britain.
The donation assisted spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that revenue from shows in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to worthy causes.
When the band earned the prize in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker declared that the band would give their winnings to the non-profit the charity.
In 2002, rapper and singer she split her bounty across a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," she shared with the media.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also winners that year the group contributed their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected two small stages in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
The first in the city and The Croft in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
