Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's independent live music spots.
The star was awarded the award on October 16 as his third album People Watching was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues had in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support 38 small stages across the UK.
These funds supported locations that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations obtained funding support in improving facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The idea that money from concerts in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
Back when the band received the prize in the mid-90s for their album Different Class, lead singer Cocker announced that the group would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her prize across multiple charities, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients the group donated their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated artist Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in that area and the second in the city were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who purchase "shares" in the venues.
