Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's independent music venues.
The star was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album the album was chosen as the best record of the past year.
The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots had in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous local spots across Britain.
The money supported venues that were facing imminent closure due to issues stemming from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues received funding support in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and fans.
"The concept that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
The musician is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
In the band earned the award in the mid-90s for their release their work, frontman Cocker stated that the band would give their winnings to the non-profit the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her award across several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, they donated their winnings to the youth organization that supported their band, as well as other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked singer Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory touched another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
The first in Southampton and the other in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the venues.
