Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
The star was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his third album People Watching was named the top album of the last 12 months.
He has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his live tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds helped spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to issues caused by floods, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The concept that funds from shows in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When Pulp won the award in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist divided her bounty across several charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, the band gave their winnings to the community center that nurtured their act, as well as other local music groups.
Also winners that year M People gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was ample," stated vocalist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of small stages in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in that location were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "shares" in the properties.
