The artist donates twenty-five thousand pounds award winnings to independent live spaces

The artist has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.

Fender was awarded the award on October 16 as his third album People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

He has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his initial steps.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.

In the last year, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

He also participated, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues received funding support in modernizing facilities and gear that helped musicians and fans.

"The notion that money from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has said.

Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

Back when Pulp earned the award in 1996 for their record their work, lead singer the singer stated that the band would give their cash to the organization the charity.

That year, musician she divided her award across multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," she shared with the media.

Previously, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the local youth club that developed their act, in addition to other local music groups.

Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the condition.

"The victory was sufficient," stated artist Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success touched another person's life."

In the past week, the MVT revealed it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the venues.