Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which works to save the UK's small music venues.
He was awarded the award on 16 October as his third album the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function small stages had in his beginning days.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
He also participated, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 grassroots venues across the UK.
The donation helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges stemming from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from performances in big venues supports the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," the star has commented.
He is far from the only musician to give his honor funds to charitable organizations.
When Pulp won the trophy in 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist the singer announced that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her bounty across multiple good causes, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"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 required better apparatus," she explained to the media.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that nurtured their band, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year they gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the condition.
"The victory was sufficient," stated artist Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of local spots in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition program, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
