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Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's small live music spots.

The star was given the award on 16 October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages played in his initial steps.

"I would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16% of the total UK scene.

In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.

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

The donation supported locations that were dealing with possible closure due to issues arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and gear that positively impacted artists and audiences.

"The concept that revenue from concerts in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.

Fender is far from the only musician to give his award winnings to charitable organizations.

In the band won the prize in the year 1996 for their album the album, frontman the singer stated that the group would give their prize money to the organization War Child.

In 2002, musician she shared her bounty between several organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," the artist told the media.

Previously, they contributed their funds to the community center that nurtured their group, as well as other independent music bodies.

Additionally 1994 winners M People contributed their prize to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.

"Winning was ample," said artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success touched another person's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.

One venue in Southampton and the other in that location were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the properties.