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The artist has handed over the complete sum of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the United Kingdom's small live music spots.

Fender was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his third album his work was declared the top album of the last 12 months.

He has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages had in his beginning days.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls.

He also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 small stages across Britain.

These funds supported venues that were facing potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Some locations received monetary aid in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and fans.

"The concept that funds from concerts in major spaces helps the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.

The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.

In Pulp won the trophy in the mid-90s for their album Different Class, lead singer Cocker declared that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity the charity.

During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her prize between several organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she explained to outlets.

Two years ago, they contributed their funds to the community center that supported their band, alongside other independent music bodies.

Additionally the 1994 recipients the group donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.

"Winning was ample," remarked artist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success touched somebody else's life."

Recently, the MVT shared it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

The Joiners in that area and the second in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by a national body and music fans who buy "stakes" in the properties.