Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was given the award on 16 October as his new release People Watching was named the outstanding release of the past year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his initial steps.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Fender also participated, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues received funding support in modernizing facilities and gear that helped musicians and fans.
"The notion that revenue from performances in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has said.
The musician is among several artists to give his award funds to worthy causes.
When Pulp won the prize in 1996 for their album their work, vocalist Cocker declared that the band would give their winnings to the organization the charity.
That year, musician the artist shared her prize among several charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the community center that supported their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
And winners that year they gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," said artist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory affected the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
The first in that area and the second in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by a national body and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the properties.
