The musician contributes his £25k prize award winnings to small live spaces

The artist has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the UK's small music venues.

The star was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the top album of the past year.

The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his initial steps.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.

He also participated, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.

The money assisted venues that were facing possible closure due to issues arising from floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Other venues received financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The concept that funds from shows in big venues supports the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.

Back when Pulp won the prize in 1996 for their album the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would give their prize money to the non-profit the charity.

That year, artist she split her bounty across multiple organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," the artist explained to a publication.

In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that developed their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally winners that year they donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated vocalist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched somebody else's life."

Recently, the trust revealed it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.

The Joiners in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by a national body and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.