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The star has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the Britain's grassroots live music spots.

He was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.

The musician has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages had in his early career.

"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Recently, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.

He also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across Britain.

These funds helped locations that were facing potential shutdown due to issues stemming from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in improving facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and fans.

"The notion that funds from concerts in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.

The musician is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.

In the band earned the trophy in 1996 for their record the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their prize money to the organization War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer she shared her prize across a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," she shared with outlets.

Previously, they donated their funds to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

Also winners that year they gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," said vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."

Recently, the trust shared it had saved two small stages in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.

One venue in Southampton and the other in the city were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.