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The star has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the UK's independent live music spots.

Fender was awarded the prize on 16 October as his latest record his work was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

The musician has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his initial steps.

"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous local spots across Britain.

The donation assisted venues that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges caused by water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Some locations received financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and gear that helped artists and audiences.

"The notion that money from concerts in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.

Fender is not the first artist to give his award funds to charitable organizations.

Back when Pulp won the trophy in 1996 for their record their work, lead singer Cocker declared that the group would donate their winnings to the charity the charity.

That year, artist the artist split her award among several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.

In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.

And the 1994 recipients they gave their award to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.

"Winning was sufficient," stated artist the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our victory affected the lives of others."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued two small stages in that region, by placing them under local control.

One venue in that area and the other in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is supported by a national body and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.