Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the top album of the previous year.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists like the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted funding support in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from performances in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to give his award funds to good deeds.
When the band won the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, vocalist the singer announced that the group would contribute their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her bounty across several organizations, such as the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a grand to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," the artist shared with a publication.
Previously, they gave their prize money to the community center that nurtured their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.
And winners that year they gave their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Winning was ample," remarked artist Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our success affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
