The artist gives £25,000 Mercury Prize to independent live spaces

The star has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.

Fender was presented with the award on 16 October as his latest record his work was declared the best record of the previous year.

The musician has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots played in his initial steps.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16% of the total UK scene.

In the last year, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.

Fender also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 local spots across Britain.

The donation helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to issues arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received funding support in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that funds from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has said.

Fender is not the first artist to give his honor prize money to worthy causes.

In the band earned the prize in the mid-90s for their record their work, lead singer Cocker announced that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, musician the artist shared her award between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," she told the media.

In recent years, the band gave their winnings to the youth organization that developed their act, alongside other independent music bodies.

Also the 1994 recipients they gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the illness.

"Winning was quite enough," said singer Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted the lives of others."

Recently, the trust shared it had saved several small stages in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.

The Joiners in the city and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the properties.