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The star has donated the full amount of his £25k honor prize money to the MVT, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent live music spots.

Fender was awarded the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.

The musician has decided to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his beginning days.

"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the performances I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.

Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties caused by flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in improving facilities and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The notion that revenue from concerts in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.

He is not the first artist to donate his honor funds to worthy causes.

In the band earned the prize in 1996 for their album their work, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would contribute their winnings to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, artist she shared her bounty across a few charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I donated a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," she told a publication.

In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that nurtured their band, alongside other local music groups.

And the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.

"Winning was ample," remarked artist Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory affected the lives of others."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two local spots in that region, by placing them under community ownership.

The Joiners in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.