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The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the UK's small live music spots.

Fender was awarded the award on October 16 as his third album People Watching was named the best record of the last 12 months.

He has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues had in his initial steps.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Recently, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to help 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money assisted locations that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing facilities and gear that helped musicians and fans.

"The idea that money from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his honor prize money to worthy causes.

Back when they won the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their prize money to the charity War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer the artist shared her award between several good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she explained to the media.

In recent years, they contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Additionally winners that year M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the illness.

"Receiving the award was ample," said vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success affected the lives of others."

In the past week, the MVT announced it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into local control.

One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who buy "shares" in the venues.