Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
He was presented with the award on 16 October as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function local spots had in his initial steps.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and fans.
"The concept that funds from shows in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
He is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.
Back when the band earned the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
During 2002, artist the artist shared her prize among several charities, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," the artist explained to the media.
In recent years, they gave their winnings to the community center that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year the group gave their award to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the disease.
"Winning was quite enough," said singer the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success affected the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in the city and the other in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.