Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25k honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
The musician has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues had in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped venues that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations received monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that helped performers and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
He is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.
In Pulp received the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, frontman the singer stated that the group would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, musician the artist divided her bounty between multiple organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed updated gear," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, they gave their prize money to the youth organization that developed their act, as well as other independent music bodies.
And the 1994 recipients M People gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," said singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the trust shared it had rescued several local spots in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in that area and The Croft in that location were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
