Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the Britain's independent concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his new release his work was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots had in his initial steps.
"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
The money assisted venues that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and audiences.
"The concept that funds from performances in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his honor funds to good deeds.
When the band received the prize in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker stated that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician she divided her prize across multiple good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the youth organization that developed their act, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients they gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," said artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning touched the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected two small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
