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Sam Fender has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the UK's small concert spaces.

He was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his latest record the album was chosen as the top album of the previous year.

The musician has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots had in his beginning days.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16% of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, top acts like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.

He also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across the UK.

The money helped locations that were confronting possible closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Some locations received financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and audiences.

"The notion that funds from concerts in big venues supports the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.

In the band earned the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer stated that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.

That year, musician the artist split her prize between multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist explained to outlets.

In recent years, they gave their prize money to the local youth club that developed their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally the 1994 recipients they contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the condition.

"The victory was ample," stated singer Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected somebody else's life."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had saved a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to local control.

The Joiners in the city and the other in that location were bought under the public acquisition program, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.