Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's independent live music spots.
Fender was given the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots had in his initial steps.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16% of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations were granted funding support in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from performances in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is among several artists to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When the band earned the award in 1996 for their album the album, lead singer Cocker announced that the act would contribute their prize money to the organization War Child.
That year, musician the artist split her award among several charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," the artist told outlets.
In recent years, they gave their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners M People gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"Winning was sufficient," stated artist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success affected another person's life."
Last week, the trust revealed it had saved two small stages in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
The first in the city and the second in the city were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "stakes" in the venues.
