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Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 award cash to the MVT, which works to preserve the UK's grassroots music venues.

Fender was given the award on October 16 as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.

The musician has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues had in his beginning days.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.

Sam Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds assisted locations that were confronting imminent closure due to issues stemming from water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and fans.

"The notion that revenue from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.

When the band won the award in the year 1996 for their album their work, vocalist the singer declared that the band would contribute their cash to the charity War Child.

In 2002, musician she split her prize across a few organizations, such as the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a grand to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist told the media.

In recent years, the band donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their group, in addition to other local music groups.

Additionally 1994 winners they donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the disease.

"Winning was sufficient," remarked artist Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected a couple of local spots in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.

The first in that area and The Croft in that location were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.