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The star has donated the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the MVT, which works to protect the UK's independent music venues.

Fender was awarded the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.

The musician has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his beginning days.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight local spots across Britain.

The donation helped locations that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.

Some locations obtained financial assistance in improving facilities and gear that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from shows in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.

He is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

Back when Pulp won the prize in the year 1996 for their album the album, vocalist Cocker declared that the band would give their cash to the organization War Child.

During 2002, artist she shared her award between multiple organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.

Additionally 1994 winners M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.

"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory affected somebody else's life."

Last week, the trust revealed it had rescued two local spots in that region, by transferring them to local control.

One venue in that area and the other in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "shares" in the venues.