Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's small music venues.
Fender was presented with the award on October 16 as his new release his work was named the best record of the previous year.
He has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped spaces that were facing possible closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The notion that revenue from shows in big venues supports the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his honor funds to charitable organizations.
In Pulp won the award in the year 1996 for their record their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her prize between several good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
And winners that year they donated their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.
"The victory was ample," said artist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted the lives of others."
Recently, the trust announced it had rescued two small stages in that region, by bringing them into local control.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the community ownership program, which is funded by a national body and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
