Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which works to protect the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was declared the top album of the previous year.
Fender has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots had in his initial steps.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
In the last year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported venues that were facing possible closure due to issues arising from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from performances in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
When they won the prize in the mid-90s for their album their work, vocalist Cocker declared that the act would give their winnings to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her award among a few charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she shared with a publication.
Previously, they donated their funds to the community center that developed their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Also 1994 winners they donated their award to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success touched somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in the city and The Croft in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
