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Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which works to protect the UK's small concert spaces.

He was given the cheque on 16 October as his new release the album was declared the top album of the past year.

The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.

"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.

In the last year, major artists including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 grassroots venues across the UK.

The donation assisted venues that were confronting imminent closure due to issues stemming from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Some locations obtained financial assistance in improving infrastructure and gear that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The concept that money from performances in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

The musician is among several artists to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.

In they received the trophy in the year 1996 for their release their work, lead singer Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the charity War Child.

That year, musician Ms Dynamite shared her prize across several organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to the media.

Two years ago, they donated their funds to the community center that nurtured their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Also the 1994 recipients the group donated their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the illness.

"Winning was ample," said singer the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched another person's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved two grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.

The first in the city and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the venues.