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The artist has handed over the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which functions to save the Britain's small music venues.

Fender was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.

The musician has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his early career.

"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.

Sam Fender also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous small stages across Britain.

The donation helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that revenue from performances in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.

In they won the prize in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would give their cash to the charity War Child.

In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her prize across several charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," she explained to the media.

Previously, the band donated their funds to the community center that nurtured their act, in addition to other local music groups.

And 1994 winners they contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the condition.

"Winning was quite enough," said artist the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted another person's life."

Recently, the trust revealed it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under local control.

One venue in the city and the second in that location were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "shares" in the buildings.