Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 award winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
He was presented with the award on mid-October as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues had in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, major artists including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 local spots across the UK.
These funds assisted locations that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained funding support in improving facilities and gear that helped artists and fans.
"The idea that funds from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
When the band earned the prize in the mid-90s for their record their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.
That year, musician the artist divided her prize among several charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she told a publication.
Previously, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that supported their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners M People gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," said vocalist Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT announced it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
One venue in the city and the second in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the properties.
