Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
He was presented with the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues had in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues stemming from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing infrastructure and gear that helped musicians and fans.
"The idea that revenue from performances in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.
He is among several artists to give his honor winnings to worthy causes.
In they received the award in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would contribute their winnings to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer she split her prize between several organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite told the media.
In recent years, the band contributed their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients M People contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"The victory was ample," remarked artist Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning affected another person's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had rescued two local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in the city and the second in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
