Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
Fender was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his latest record the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages had in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the performances I did around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.
Recently, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous local spots across the UK.
The donation assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in improving amenities and gear that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The idea that funds from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has said.
He is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
In the band earned the prize in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their prize money to the charity the charity.
That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her award across a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Previously, the band donated their funds to the youth organization that supported their group, as well as other local music groups.
And winners that year the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," said artist Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our success touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected two small stages in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in Southampton and the second in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
