Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
He was given the prize on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was named the best record of the last 12 months.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, top acts like the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous small stages across Britain.
The donation assisted spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to issues caused by flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and gear that helped musicians and fans.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
Fender is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When Pulp earned the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, vocalist the singer declared that the act would give their cash to the charity War Child.
In 2002, musician the artist split her bounty between several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she shared with the media.
In recent years, the band donated their funds to the community center that supported their group, in addition to other local music groups.
And 1994 winners they contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated singer Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
Recently, the trust shared it had protected two small stages in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
