Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the Britain's small live music spots.
He was awarded the award on mid-October as his new release People Watching was named the top album of the past year.
Fender has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages played in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous local spots across Britain.
The donation assisted spaces that were confronting possible closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations received funding support in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and fans.
"The idea that revenue from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award prize money to worthy causes.
In the band received the prize in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman Cocker declared that the band would give their prize money to the organization the charity.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.
Previously, they donated their prize money to the youth organization that supported their act, as well as other local music groups.
Also 1994 winners the group donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," said singer Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and the second in the city were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "stakes" in the properties.
