Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which works to protect the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across the UK.
The money assisted spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges arising from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that revenue from performances in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his award funds to worthy causes.
When they received the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, vocalist Cocker stated that the act would contribute their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, artist the artist shared her bounty across a few organizations, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," she shared with outlets.
Previously, the band donated their prize money to the local youth club that supported their band, as well as other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in the city and The Croft in that location were bought under the community ownership program, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.
