Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the UK's independent concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the prize on October 16 as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous local spots across the UK.
These funds assisted locations that were dealing with possible closure due to issues stemming from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and audiences.
"The concept that money from concerts in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his honor winnings to charitable organizations.
When Pulp received the trophy in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman the singer announced that the act would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.
That year, artist she split her prize between multiple organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," the artist explained to a publication.
Previously, they gave their winnings to the community center that supported their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients M People gave their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our success touched another person's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had protected several grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the second in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.
