Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which works to save the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
He was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
He has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous local spots across the UK.
The donation assisted venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues received monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that helped artists and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has said.
He is far from the only musician to give his honor prize money to worthy causes.
When the band won the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, vocalist the singer announced that the act would give their winnings to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty across a few good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners they donated their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," stated artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Recently, the trust revealed it had saved two local spots in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who purchase "shares" in the properties.
