Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's small music venues.
Fender was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his new release People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Other venues received financial assistance in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from concerts in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
He is not the first artist to give his honor funds to good deeds.
In the band earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, lead singer the singer declared that the act would donate their prize money to the charity the charity.
In 2002, rapper and singer she shared her bounty among a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
In recent years, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, as well as other independent music bodies.
And winners that year the group contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning touched the lives of others."
Last week, the trust announced it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in the city and the other in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by a national body and music fans who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
