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Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the Britain's independent music venues.

Fender was presented with the prize on 16 October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

Fender has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues had in his early career.

"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous small stages across Britain.

The donation supported venues that were confronting possible closure due to issues caused by water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.

Additional spaces received financial assistance in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and concertgoers.

"The concept that money from performances in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.

He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.

When the band received the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would give their cash to the charity the charity.

That year, rapper and singer the artist shared her award between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," she explained to a publication.

Two years ago, they gave their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the illness.

"Receiving the award was ample," said artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning touched another person's life."

Last week, the MVT shared it had protected two small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.

One venue in Southampton and the second in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the properties.