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The star has given the full amount of his £25,000 award winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the UK's independent concert spaces.

The star was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his third album the album was declared the best record of the past year.

He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues had in his beginning days.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges caused by water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and audiences.

"The notion that revenue from performances in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.

He is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.

When the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer the singer stated that the band would contribute their winnings to the organization War Child.

In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her prize across multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," Ms Dynamite told a publication.

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

Additionally winners that year they contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the condition.

"Winning was sufficient," stated vocalist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success affected the lives of others."

Last week, the trust revealed it had protected a couple of small stages in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

One venue in the city and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the properties.