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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the Britain's grassroots music venues.

Fender was presented with the award on 16 October as his latest record his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.

The musician has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages had in his early career.

"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.

Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous local spots across Britain.

The money assisted locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges caused by water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received monetary aid in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from concerts in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.

He is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.

Back when Pulp received the prize in 1996 for their record the album, frontman the singer stated that the band would give their cash to the charity War Child.

That year, artist the artist divided her award among a few charities, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.

Two years ago, they contributed their funds to the community center that nurtured their group, alongside other independent music bodies.

Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the condition.

"Winning was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success touched the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT shared it had protected several grassroots venues in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.

One venue in the city and the second in that location were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.