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Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.

The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album his work was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

The musician has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots had in his initial steps.

"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.

Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.

These funds assisted locations that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and audiences.

"The idea that revenue from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has said.

Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his award winnings to good deeds.

In Pulp won the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would give their winnings to the charity the charity.

That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her bounty across several good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed updated gear," the artist explained to a publication.

Two years ago, the band contributed their funds to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other independent music bodies.

And 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the condition.

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

Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected several local spots in south-east England, by placing them under local control.

The first in Southampton and the other in the city were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the properties.