Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to save the Britain's small music venues.
The star was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his latest record the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has opted to give the cash to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.
These funds assisted locations that were facing imminent closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained funding support in improving facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in major spaces supports the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has said.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his award winnings to worthy causes.
In the band earned the prize in the year 1996 for their release the album, vocalist the singer declared that the act would donate their cash to the charity the charity.
That year, musician the artist split her bounty among several good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a grand to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.
Previously, the band gave their winnings to the youth organization that supported their band, as well as other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," stated artist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory affected another person's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had saved a couple of local spots in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The first in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
