Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the Britain's small concert spaces.
The star was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album his work was named the best record of the past year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots had in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
He also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
These funds supported spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges arising from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that revenue from shows in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has said.
He is far from the only musician to give his honor funds to charitable organizations.
In Pulp won the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, vocalist the singer declared that the band would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.
In 2002, artist she split her prize between a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," the artist shared with a publication.
Two years ago, they contributed their prize money to the local youth club that supported their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners they contributed their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"The victory was ample," said artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The first in the city and the other in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
