Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to save the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part local spots played in his initial steps.
"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped locations that were facing possible closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces received financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from performances in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just logical," the star has commented.
He is far from the only musician to donate his honor funds to worthy causes.
In they earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their release their work, frontman the singer announced that the group would donate their prize money to the organization the charity.
During 2002, musician the artist shared her bounty between multiple organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, they gave their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their act, in addition to other local music groups.
And winners that year the group gave their award to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Winning was ample," said artist Heather Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in the city and the second in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership program, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
