Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the MVT, which works to save the UK's small music venues.
Fender was given the award on October 16 as his new release the album was declared the top album of the previous year.
He has decided to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation assisted locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Other venues received funding support in modernizing amenities and gear that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The idea that money from performances in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
Back when they received the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman the singer declared that the act would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.
During 2002, artist the artist divided her prize among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the youth organization that developed their band, as well as other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners they donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked singer Heather Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success impacted the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in the city and the second in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
