Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the UK's small concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the best record of the past year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.
In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to assist numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted locations that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in big venues supports the local stages, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his award winnings to good deeds.
In they received the award in 1996 for their record Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their prize money to the charity the charity.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist divided her award among several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
Previously, the band gave their prize money to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And the 1994 recipients the group donated their award to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked vocalist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory touched the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved a couple of small stages in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in that area and the other in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
