Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
Fender was given the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was named the top album of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages fulfilled 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 beyond, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.
These funds supported spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has said.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to worthy causes.
When Pulp won the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer declared that the group would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she split her bounty across a few charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a grand to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," she told outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year M People donated their award to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust announced it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
One venue in Southampton and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
