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Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25k honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to save the United Kingdom's independent live music spots.

The star was awarded the prize on October 16 as his third album People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.

He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues had in his early career.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, major artists including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

Sam Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist 38 small stages across Britain.

The money supported spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and fans.

"The idea that funds from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.

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

When the band won the prize in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the group would give their winnings to the charity War Child.

During 2002, artist she shared her prize between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," she told a publication.

In recent years, the band donated their winnings to the local youth club that supported their group, alongside other independent music bodies.

Also the 1994 recipients they gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.

"Winning was sufficient," stated artist Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted the lives of others."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two local spots in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and the second in the city were purchased under the community ownership program, which is supported by a national body and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.