Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25k award winnings to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
He was awarded the prize on 16 October as his third album his work was declared the best record of the previous year.
The musician has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues had in his initial steps.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also participated, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds supported locations that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues received monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces supports the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
In Pulp earned the award in the year 1996 for their record the album, frontman Cocker stated that the band would contribute their cash to the organization the charity.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her award among several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their band, alongside other local music groups.
And 1994 winners the group gave their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked singer the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued several grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
The first in that area and the other in Bristol were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
