Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to save the UK's small music venues.
He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the region, and beyond, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Recently, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 small stages across Britain.
These funds helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in modernizing facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from shows in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
Back when the band received the trophy in the year 1996 for their record their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would give their winnings to the organization the charity.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her prize between multiple good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
Previously, they gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year M People gave their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Winning was ample," remarked singer Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success impacted another person's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by a national body and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
