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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the Britain's independent live music spots.

He was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album his work was named the best record of the previous year.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his initial steps.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.

In the last year, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to issues stemming from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The idea that revenue from shows in large arenas helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

The musician is far from the only musician to give his award funds to good deeds.

When they earned the prize in the mid-90s for their release their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would contribute their cash to the charity the charity.

That year, musician she shared her prize across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I contributed a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she told outlets.

Previously, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their act, in addition to other local music groups.

Also winners that year the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.

"Winning was ample," stated singer Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning affected somebody else's life."

Recently, the trust revealed it had protected two local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.

The Joiners in the city and the other in that location were purchased under the community ownership program, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.