Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which operates to preserve the UK's small music venues.
He was awarded the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was named the top album of the last 12 months.
He has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising over £100k on his recent tour to help 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues caused by floods, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted monetary aid in improving amenities and gear that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The notion that money from concerts in big venues helps the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," the star has said.
He is among several artists to donate his honor winnings to charitable organizations.
Back when Pulp received the award in the year 1996 for their record the album, vocalist Cocker declared that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her prize across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their act, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients they donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," said artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory touched the lives of others."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued several small stages in that region, by placing them under community ownership.
The first in Southampton and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
