Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's small live music spots.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
He also participated, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported venues that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Other venues received funding support in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from concerts in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
He is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
Back when Pulp earned the trophy in 1996 for their album their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her prize across several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their act, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Winning was sufficient," stated artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success touched the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected several small stages in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in the city and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who buy "stakes" in the properties.
