Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's independent music venues.
The star was given the prize on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the previous year.
He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots had in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed 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 independent venues.
Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous small stages across Britain.
The money supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to issues caused by floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in improving facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that funds from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his award winnings to good deeds.
In they received the prize in 1996 for their record the album, frontman Cocker stated that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite split her award between a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," she explained to the media.
In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the youth organization that developed their band, alongside other local music groups.
Also winners that year the group donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," stated singer Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory touched another person's life."
Recently, the trust revealed it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The first in that area and the other in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the properties.
