Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's small music venues.
Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his latest record his work was named the top album of the previous year.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16% of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
He also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist 38 small stages across Britain.
The money assisted locations that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained funding support in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is among several artists to give his award prize money to charitable organizations.
Back when the band won the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would donate their winnings to the charity the charity.
That year, musician the artist split her award across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," the artist told the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their act, alongside other local music groups.
And winners that year they gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had rescued a couple of local spots in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in the city and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
