Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on October 16 as his new release People Watching was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part small stages played in his initial steps.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16% of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous small stages across Britain.
These funds assisted venues that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues received funding support in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from shows in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
When Pulp won the prize in the mid-90s for their album their work, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity the charity.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite divided her bounty among a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," the artist shared with a publication.
In recent years, they gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their band, alongside other independent music bodies.
And the 1994 recipients they donated their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated artist Small. "The money was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had protected several grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
One venue in the city and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
