Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's independent music venues.
Fender was given the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was named the top album of the last 12 months.
He has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots played in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These locations are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Fender also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to assist 38 local spots across the UK.
The donation assisted spaces that were facing imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The idea that funds from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
The musician is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When the band won the award in 1996 for their release their work, frontman Cocker declared that the group would give their prize money to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her award across multiple charities, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," she shared with outlets.
Two years ago, they donated their prize money to the youth organization that developed their band, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients the group gave their award to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the trust revealed it had rescued several local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in that area and the second in the city were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "shares" in the venues.
