Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's independent music venues.
He was awarded the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages had in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
He also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and gear that helped artists and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
Back when the band earned the prize in 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker declared that the group would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
That year, musician she shared her award across several charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," the artist explained to the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year M People donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," stated artist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved two local spots in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.
