Sam Fender has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's small music venues.
The star was given the award on mid-October as his new release the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has decided to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his live tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds helped spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by water damage, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted artists and fans.
"The notion that money from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his honor funds to charitable organizations.
Back when Pulp won the award in the mid-90s for their release their work, vocalist the singer announced that the act would give their cash to the organization the charity.
In 2002, musician she shared her bounty across a few charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And the 1994 recipients the group contributed their award to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the illness.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the MVT revealed it had rescued two small stages in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.
One venue in that area and the second in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
