Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his new release People Watching was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues played in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists like the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped locations that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from concerts in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.
Fender is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.
When the band won the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker stated that the group would donate their winnings to the charity the charity.
In 2002, artist the artist divided her award between several good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist explained to a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that supported their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year the group contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our success affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in that area and the second in Bristol were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
