Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 honor winnings to the MVT, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
Fender was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his new release People Watching was chosen as the top album of the past year.
He has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
He also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
These funds supported locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues stemming from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from concerts in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.
When the band won the prize in 1996 for their album the album, vocalist the singer stated that the act would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.
During 2002, artist the artist divided her award across a few organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their group, as well as other local music groups.
Also 1994 winners M People gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," stated artist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected two grassroots venues in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
