Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which works to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
The star was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the past year.
He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues had in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to issues arising from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that funds from shows in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
He is not the first artist to give his award prize money to charitable organizations.
Back when the band received the prize in 1996 for their release their work, lead singer the singer stated that the group would give their cash to the non-profit the charity.
In 2002, artist she divided her award among multiple charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients they donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had saved two local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in the city and the second in that location were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
