Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
He was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his new release his work was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
The musician has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots played in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money assisted venues that were confronting possible closure due to issues stemming from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues obtained funding support in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas supports the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
Back when the band earned the prize in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Cocker declared that the act would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her award among several good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other independent music bodies.
And winners that year they donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Winning was ample," said vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory touched the lives of others."
Last week, the trust announced it had saved two grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in that area and the second in the city were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the venues.
