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The artist has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.

The star was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

He has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function small stages played in his initial steps.

"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, top acts including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.

He also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds helped spaces that were confronting possible closure due to issues caused by floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in upgrading facilities and gear that helped artists and fans.

"The notion that funds from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.

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

When they won the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.

During 2002, musician she divided her award among a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," the artist explained to the media.

Two years ago, the band contributed their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their act, alongside other local music groups.

And 1994 winners they donated their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.

"Winning was quite enough," remarked singer the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."

Recently, the MVT announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under local control.

One venue in the city and the other in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.