Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the Britain's small live music spots.
Fender was given the award on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was named the best record of the past year.
Fender has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots played in his initial steps.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.
"The notion that money from shows in big venues backs the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
Back when the band won the prize in the year 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer she split her bounty between several good causes, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, the band donated their funds to the local youth club that supported their band, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners they contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated singer the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in the city and the second in the city were acquired under the community ownership program, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "shares" in the properties.
