The musician contributes his £25k prize Mercury Prize to independent live spaces

Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to save the UK's grassroots music venues.

He was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his new release his work was named the outstanding release of the previous year.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16% of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

He also participated, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Some locations received monetary aid in improving facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The concept that funds from concerts in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

Fender is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to good deeds.

In Pulp won the prize in the year 1996 for their record the album, lead singer the singer declared that the group would give their winnings to the non-profit the charity.

That year, musician Ms Dynamite shared her bounty among a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," she told a publication.

Previously, they donated their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, alongside other local music groups.

Also winners that year they donated their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.

"The victory was quite enough," remarked artist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning affected somebody else's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved two small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The first in that area and the other in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by a national body and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.