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Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.

The star was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

The musician has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his early career.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.

Recently, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to support 38 grassroots venues across the UK.

The donation supported locations that were facing imminent closure due to issues arising from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received monetary aid in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and audiences.

"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas supports the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has said.

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his honor funds to worthy causes.

In they received the trophy in the mid-90s for their album the album, lead singer the singer stated that the band would donate their prize money to the organization the charity.

That year, artist the artist divided her award among multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite told outlets.

Previously, the band gave their funds to the local youth club that supported their act, as well as other independent music bodies.

Also 1994 winners the group contributed their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," remarked singer Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched the lives of others."

Recently, the trust shared it had rescued several local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.

The Joiners in Southampton and the second in that location were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by a national body and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the venues.