Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the Britain's small music venues.
He was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his new release People Watching was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges caused by floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted funding support in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that helped performers and fans.
"The notion that funds from shows in large arenas helps the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
Back when Pulp received the prize in 1996 for their record the album, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would donate their prize money to the organization the charity.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her bounty across a few charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, they contributed their funds to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally 1994 winners the group gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued a couple of local spots in the South East, by placing them under local control.
One venue in that area and the second in the city were bought under the community ownership program, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
