Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which works to protect the Britain's small concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on October 16 as his third album People Watching was named the best record of the previous year.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to donate his award prize money to good deeds.
In Pulp won the award in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite divided her prize between a few charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," the artist told a publication.
Two years ago, they gave their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their act, as well as other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"The victory was sufficient," said singer Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had rescued two grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
The first in the city and The Croft in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
