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The star has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's independent music venues.

The star was given the award on 16 October as his latest record his work was declared the outstanding release of the past year.

The musician has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, top acts like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.

Fender also joined in, raising over £100k on his recent tour to support 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds helped venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues stemming from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Some locations were granted financial assistance in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that funds from performances in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.

He is not the first artist to donate his award funds to worthy causes.

Back when the band received the prize in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would donate their cash to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her bounty among a few good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," she told a publication.

Previously, they contributed their funds to the youth organization that developed their act, as well as other local music groups.

Additionally winners that year M People donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.

"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory touched somebody else's life."

Last week, the trust announced it had rescued several grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.

The first in the city and The Croft in that location were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.