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Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.

Fender was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the best record of the last 12 months.

Fender has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role local spots had in his initial steps.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.

In the last year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.

He also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 local spots across Britain.

The money helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.

Some locations obtained funding support in upgrading infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and fans.

"The concept that money from performances in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.

He is among several artists to give his honor prize money to good deeds.

Back when they received the prize in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer Cocker announced that the group would donate their cash to the organization War Child.

That year, artist she divided her bounty among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," she shared with outlets.

Two years ago, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their act, alongside other independent music bodies.

And the 1994 recipients M People donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the condition.

"The victory was quite enough," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched another person's life."

Recently, the MVT revealed it had protected two local spots in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.

One venue in the city and the other in Bristol were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and music fans who buy "shares" in the properties.