Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the UK's grassroots music venues.
He was presented with the prize on mid-October as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across the UK.
The donation supported venues that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received funding support in improving amenities and gear that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is not the first artist to give his honor prize money to good deeds.
When Pulp won the award in 1996 for their album their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would give their cash to the organization War Child.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her prize across several organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist explained to outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their prize to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success touched the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in that location were bought under the community ownership program, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the venues.
