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Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to save the United Kingdom's independent music venues.

The star was given the award on October 16 as his third album People Watching was named the best record of the past year.

He has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function small stages played in his early career.

"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.

Sam Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds supported locations that were facing possible closure due to difficulties caused by flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and fans.

"The idea that funds from concerts in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has said.

Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his award funds to charitable organizations.

When the band earned the award in 1996 for their album their work, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would give their prize money to the organization War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her award between several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," she shared with the media.

In recent years, they donated their winnings to the community center that supported their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally 1994 winners M People donated their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.

"Winning was ample," said singer Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted the lives of others."

In the past week, the MVT revealed it had rescued a couple of local spots in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.

One venue in Southampton and the other in the city were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.