Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
He was presented with the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages had in his initial steps.
"I personally would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the performances I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16% of the total UK scene.
Recently, top acts like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
He also joined in, collecting over £100k on his live tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
These funds supported locations that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces were granted funding support in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in large arenas helps the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
When Pulp earned the prize in 1996 for their release the album, vocalist the singer announced that the act would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her bounty across a few charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," she told a publication.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the community center that supported their act, as well as other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients M People contributed their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked artist Small. "The money was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in the city and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the properties.
