The artist contributes twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to grassroots music venues

The star has handed over the full amount of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the Britain's small music venues.

He was presented with the prize on 16 October as his third album People Watching was declared the best record of the previous year.

The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his initial steps.

"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the shows I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, major artists like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his live tour to assist numerous small stages across Britain.

The donation supported locations that were facing imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in improving facilities and gear that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from performances in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.

Fender is not the first artist to donate his award winnings to good deeds.

When the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, frontman the singer announced that the act would contribute their prize money to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between several organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

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

Two years ago, they gave their prize money to the community center that nurtured their band, alongside other independent music bodies.

Also the 1994 recipients the group gave their award to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the illness.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked singer the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted another person's life."

Recently, the MVT revealed it had rescued two small stages in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and the second in that location were bought under the public acquisition program, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "stakes" in the buildings.