Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 honor winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
The star was given the prize on mid-October as his latest record the album was named the top album of the last 12 months.
He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
The donation helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The idea that funds from shows in big venues backs the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
Back when the band received the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer she shared her prize across several charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also contributed a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite explained to the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the condition.
"The victory was sufficient," stated artist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had saved several small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
One venue in that area and the other in the city were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by a national body and music fans who buy "shares" in the venues.
