Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which works to protect the Britain's small music venues.
The star was given the award on October 16 as his new release People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I personally would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues stemming from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The concept that funds from shows in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to give his honor funds to charitable organizations.
Back when the band earned the award in the mid-90s for their record their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her prize between multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," she shared with the media.
In recent years, they donated their prize money to the community center that supported their band, alongside other local music groups.
And winners that year M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"The victory was ample," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the trust shared it had saved a couple of small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in that area and the second in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
