Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his third album his work was declared the top album of the previous year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous small stages across the UK.
These funds assisted venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations received monetary aid in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in big venues helps the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
He is among several artists to give his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
When the band won the award in the mid-90s for their record the album, vocalist the singer announced that the act would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite divided her prize between a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," she explained to a publication.
Two years ago, they donated their winnings to the community center that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year the group donated their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said singer the singer. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Last week, the MVT revealed it had saved a couple of small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in that area and the other in that location were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
