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The artist has given the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the Britain's small live music spots.

Fender was given the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the top album of the previous year.

He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part local spots had in his beginning days.

"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.

Sam Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation assisted venues that were dealing with possible closure due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.

"The concept that money from performances in big venues supports the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

He is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.

Back when Pulp received the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the charity the charity.

That year, rapper and singer the artist shared her prize across multiple good causes, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told a publication.

Two years ago, the band donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

And winners that year they donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," said artist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success affected the lives of others."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved several small stages in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The Joiners in Southampton and the second in the city were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.