Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the UK's independent live music spots.
The star was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight local spots across the UK.
These funds assisted locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues received financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
When the band earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their winnings to the charity the charity.
That year, musician she shared her award between multiple organizations, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Previously, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their band, in addition to other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients the group contributed their prize to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"The victory was sufficient," remarked singer the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the trust announced it had saved two grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under community ownership.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who purchase "shares" in the venues.
