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Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's independent live music spots.

He was given the cheque on mid-October as his new release People Watching was named the best record of the past year.

The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.

"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16% of the total UK scene.

Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.

Fender also participated, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.

These funds assisted venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Some locations were granted funding support in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.

"The idea that funds from shows in big venues helps the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.

He is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to worthy causes.

Back when the band received the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.

That year, rapper and singer she divided her prize across multiple good causes, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist shared with a publication.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

And the 1994 recipients the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the disease.

"Receiving the award was ample," said artist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success touched another person's life."

Recently, the trust shared it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.

The Joiners in the city and the second in that location were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the venues.