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Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.

He was presented with the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

He has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots played in his early career.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have ceased operations – about 16% of the total UK scene.

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

Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.

The money helped locations that were facing possible closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.

Additional spaces received funding support in improving amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.

"The idea that revenue from performances in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

He is far from the only musician to contribute his award funds to worthy causes.

In they earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman the singer announced that the group would contribute their cash to the charity the charity.

In 2002, musician the artist split her prize among multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Also the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," said vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted the lives of others."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of local spots in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.

The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the properties.