Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the prize on 16 October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function 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 did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by floods, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in improving facilities and technical equipment that helped musicians and fans.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
Back when the band received the trophy in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity the charity.
During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her award among multiple good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist explained to the media.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the youth organization that supported their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients they gave their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated singer Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success affected another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had rescued several local spots in that region, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in that area and the second in the city were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is backed by a national body and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
