Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on October 16 as his third album his work was declared the top album of the previous year.
He has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
The money assisted spaces that were facing possible closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations received financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The concept that revenue from shows in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
Back when the band won the prize in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her bounty across several charities, such as the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she told outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners they contributed their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked singer Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the trust revealed it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the venues.
