Sam Fender has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the MVT, which operates to protect the UK's grassroots music venues.
The star was presented with the prize on October 16 as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has decided to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in improving infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The idea that funds from performances in major spaces supports the local stages, where it begins for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.
He is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When the band received the prize in 1996 for their record the album, lead singer Cocker declared that the group would give their winnings to the non-profit the charity.
During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite split her award across multiple organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she explained to a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year the group gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked singer Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had protected a couple of small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
The first in Southampton and the second in the city were bought under the community ownership program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
