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Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's independent music venues.

He was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album the album was chosen as the top album of the past year.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages had in his initial steps.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the performances I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are renowned, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 local spots across Britain.

These funds supported spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that helped musicians and audiences.

"The idea that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.

Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

When the band received the award in 1996 for their release the album, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.

During 2002, musician the artist split her prize across several charities, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.

In recent years, the band donated their prize money to the youth organization that supported their band, alongside other local music groups.

And winners that year they donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.

"Receiving the award was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched another person's life."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.

The first in the city and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.