Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's independent concert spaces.
The star was presented with the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots had in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in upgrading amenities and gear that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The idea that funds from concerts in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
Back when Pulp received the prize in 1996 for their record the album, frontman Cocker stated that the band would give their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, musician the artist shared her bounty across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with outlets.
Two years ago, the band contributed their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners they donated their award to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"Winning was sufficient," said singer Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched another person's life."
Recently, the trust shared it had rescued several local spots in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and the other in that location were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the buildings.
