Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was presented with the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the top album of the previous year.
He has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages had in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to help thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
These funds assisted venues that were facing possible closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in improving infrastructure and gear that helped musicians and fans.
"The notion that funds from concerts in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his award prize money to good deeds.
When the band earned the prize in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would contribute their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist split her bounty among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist told a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the community center that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners the group donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
In the past week, the trust announced it had saved several local spots in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and the second in the city were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
