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Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.

Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the best record of the past year.

The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.

"I couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

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

Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help thirty-eight small stages across the UK.

These funds supported spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Some locations received funding support in modernizing facilities and gear that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from shows in big venues backs the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has said.

The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.

Back when the band received the trophy in the mid-90s for their record their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would contribute their prize money to the non-profit War Child.

In 2002, musician the artist shared her bounty across a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to the media.

Previously, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the local youth club that supported their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Additionally winners that year they contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the illness.

"Winning was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted another person's life."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued two local spots in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.

The first in that area and The Croft in the city were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the venues.