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The artist has donated the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the UK's independent music venues.

The star was given the cheque on October 16 as his latest record the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

Fender has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.

Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.

Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous local spots across Britain.

The donation assisted locations that were facing imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and fans.

"The concept that money from performances in big venues backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has said.

The musician is not the first artist to contribute his award winnings to charitable organizations.

When Pulp earned the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer the singer stated that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.

During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," she shared with a publication.

In recent years, they gave their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally 1994 winners they contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.

"Receiving the award was ample," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT announced it had saved two grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to local control.

The Joiners in that area and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "shares" in the properties.