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The star has donated the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's small music venues.

Fender was awarded the award on mid-October as his new release People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.

Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages played in his early career.

"I wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and audiences.

"The concept that money from performances in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.

He is among several artists to donate his honor winnings to good deeds.

In Pulp won the prize in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman the singer declared that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit the charity.

That year, musician she split her prize between multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.

Previously, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Additionally 1994 winners M People gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the condition.

"Winning was quite enough," remarked singer Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success impacted the lives of others."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved two small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.

The Joiners in the city and The Croft in that location were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "shares" in the buildings.