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Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the MVT, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small live music spots.

He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his beginning days.

"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the region, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.

He also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across Britain.

The donation assisted venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges caused by flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Some locations were granted financial assistance in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that helped performers and audiences.

"The notion that revenue from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.

The musician is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

In Pulp won the prize in 1996 for their release the album, lead singer Cocker announced that the act would donate their winnings to the charity War Child.

That year, artist she divided her award between multiple organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also gave a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," the artist explained to the media.

Previously, the band gave their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their act, alongside other local music groups.

Also 1994 winners the group donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the condition.

"The victory was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."

In the past week, the MVT announced it had protected several small stages in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.

The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "shares" in the buildings.