Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the MVT, which works to protect the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
He was given the cheque on 16 October as his new release the album was chosen as the top album of the past year.
He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Recently, major artists like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous small stages across the UK.
The money helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
In the band won the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her bounty between multiple charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
In recent years, the band donated their winnings to the youth organization that developed their act, in addition to other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients the group donated their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," said artist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning touched another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "stakes" in the venues.
