Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's independent music venues.
The star was awarded the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to support 38 local spots across Britain.
The money supported venues that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from performances in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
He is among several artists to contribute his award funds to worthy causes.
When the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their record the album, lead singer the singer announced that the band would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her award across several organizations, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a grand to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year the group gave their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.
"Winning was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved a couple of local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in that area and The Croft in the city were purchased under the community ownership program, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "shares" in the venues.
