Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 honor cash to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's independent music venues.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his third album the album was declared the best record of the past year.
The musician has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in modernizing facilities and gear that helped performers and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from performances in major spaces helps the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.
In they earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their release the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their cash to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her prize between multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she shared with a publication.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the local youth club that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
And winners that year M People donated their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," said singer Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved two local spots in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and the second in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
