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Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was given the award on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was named the outstanding release of the past year.

The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues had in his beginning days.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about 16% of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation supported spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Some locations received monetary aid in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.

"The notion that revenue from performances in large arenas helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.

The musician is among several artists to contribute his honor prize money to charitable organizations.

When Pulp earned the award in the year 1996 for their record the album, vocalist Cocker announced that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization War Child.

In 2002, musician the artist divided her award between a few good causes, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told a publication.

Previously, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their band, alongside other local music groups.

Additionally the 1994 recipients the group gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the condition.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," said artist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.