Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's small concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues had in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation supported locations that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations received monetary aid in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The notion that revenue from performances in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
He is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to good deeds.
In the band received the prize in 1996 for their record their work, frontman Cocker announced that the group would donate their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her prize between several organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," the artist explained to the media.
Two years ago, they gave their winnings to the youth organization that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally the 1994 recipients they donated their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"The victory was ample," stated singer Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected the lives of others."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected a couple of small stages in that region, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in that area and the second in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the venues.
