Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which works to protect the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
He was given the cheque on mid-October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages played in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
He also participated, generating over £100k on his recent tour to support 38 grassroots venues across the UK.
The money helped locations that were confronting imminent closure due to issues stemming from water damage, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his honor winnings to worthy causes.
In Pulp earned the trophy in 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer the singer declared that the group would donate their cash to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her prize among multiple charities, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.
In recent years, the band donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their group, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked singer Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
