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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which functions to preserve the UK's independent music venues.

The star was given the cheque on October 16 as his third album People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

Fender has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his initial steps.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16% of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.

He also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous local spots across the UK.

The money helped spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges arising from floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and gear that helped artists and audiences.

"The notion that revenue from shows in big venues helps the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.

He is not the first artist to give his award winnings to charitable organizations.

In Pulp won the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist the singer declared that the band would donate their prize money to the charity the charity.

During 2002, rapper and singer the artist shared her bounty across multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," Ms Dynamite explained to the media.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the community center that supported their group, as well as other independent music bodies.

And 1994 winners they contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the illness.

"Receiving the award was ample," said artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued two small stages in that region, by bringing them into local control.

The first in the city and the other in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the buildings.