Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the Britain's small music venues.
He was awarded the award on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the past year.
He has decided to give the cash to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots had in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues received financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The notion that funds from concerts in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
When they received the trophy in the year 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her bounty across a few charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," she shared with a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their band, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year they donated their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"Winning was sufficient," said artist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Last week, the trust announced it had saved a couple of local spots in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in the city and the other in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the buildings.
