Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the UK's independent music venues.
The star was given the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was chosen as the best record of the past year.
He has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function small stages had in his initial steps.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.
These funds assisted venues that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges caused by flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from performances in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
Back when the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer the singer stated that the band would give their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, artist she split her prize across several organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," she explained to the media.
Two years ago, they contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners the group gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," said singer Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success touched another person's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had saved several local spots in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is backed by a national body and music fans who buy "stakes" in the venues.
