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The artist has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's independent live music spots.

He was given the award on 16 October as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

Fender has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages had in his early career.

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

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16% of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

He also participated, collecting over £100k on his live tour to support 38 small stages across the UK.

These funds supported spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Some locations obtained monetary aid in improving facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.

"The concept that revenue from performances in large arenas helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.

The musician is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

When the band won the trophy in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman the singer declared that the band would contribute their winnings to the organization War Child.

During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite split her award between a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite explained to the media.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the community center that nurtured their act, as well as other local music groups.

Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.

"Winning was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched another person's life."

Last week, the trust revealed it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under community ownership.

The first in the city and The Croft in the city were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by a national body and music fans who purchase "shares" in the buildings.