Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's independent music venues.
He was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his live tour to help 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges arising from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted funding support in upgrading amenities and gear that positively impacted musicians and fans.
"The notion that money from performances in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
Back when the band won the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, frontman the singer declared that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity the charity.
That year, musician she split her bounty among multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.
In recent years, they gave their prize money to the youth organization that supported their act, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"Winning was ample," said artist Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our success impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the MVT revealed it had saved a couple of local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in the city and the second in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
