Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the Britain's grassroots music venues.
He was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues had in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation supported locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and fans.
"The idea that funds from performances in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to worthy causes.
When the band earned the prize in the mid-90s for their record their work, frontman Cocker stated that the group would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her award across several charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," the artist explained to a publication.
Two years ago, the band donated their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.
"The victory was sufficient," remarked singer Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the trust shared it had protected a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.
One venue in that area and the other in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership program, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "shares" in the buildings.
