Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which operates to protect the UK's independent music venues.
He was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.
"I would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
He also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted locations that were dealing with possible closure due to issues arising from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and audiences.
"The concept that money from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
When the band won the prize in 1996 for their release the album, lead singer Cocker declared that the act would donate their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, musician she split her award across several organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," she shared with the media.
In recent years, the band contributed their funds to the youth organization that supported their act, as well as other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients they gave their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated vocalist Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
