Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which works to save the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
He was awarded the award on 16 October as his third album the album was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots played in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 local spots across the UK.
These funds helped locations that were facing possible closure due to challenges caused by water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in modernizing facilities and gear that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from shows in big venues helps the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
He is far from the only musician to donate his honor prize money to worthy causes.
In they received the prize in 1996 for their record the album, lead singer the singer announced that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician she divided her bounty across multiple organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," the artist told outlets.
In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year the group donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"The victory was ample," stated singer the singer. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
