Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the Britain's independent live music spots.
Fender was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his latest record the album was named the top album of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots played in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money assisted venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations received financial assistance in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his honor prize money to good deeds.
Back when the band received the prize in 1996 for their record their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician the artist divided her prize across a few good causes, such as the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Previously, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our success touched the lives of others."
Last week, the trust shared it had rescued a couple of small stages in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and the second in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "shares" in the properties.
