Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was awarded the award on October 16 as his latest record his work was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 local spots across the UK.
These funds supported spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The idea that money from concerts in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
When they received the trophy in the mid-90s for their release their work, frontman Cocker stated that the act would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist divided her prize between a few organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist told a publication.
In recent years, they donated their winnings to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year they donated their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," stated artist Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success affected another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had protected two local spots in that region, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in the city and the other in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the venues.
