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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the trust for venues, which works to save the UK's grassroots live music spots.

The star was given the prize on October 16 as his new release his work was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

Fender has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots played in his initial steps.

"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the total UK scene.

In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.

Sam Fender also participated, generating over £100k on his recent tour to assist 38 small stages across the UK.

These funds assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received funding support in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that helped performers and fans.

"The concept that funds from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.

He is among several artists to give his honor prize money to good deeds.

When Pulp earned the award in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer the singer announced that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit the charity.

During 2002, musician she split her prize between several organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," she shared with the media.

In recent years, they donated their prize money to the local youth club that developed their band, as well as other local music groups.

Also the 1994 recipients the group donated their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the disease.

"Receiving the award was ample," said artist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory affected the lives of others."

In the past week, the trust shared it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into local control.

The Joiners in the city and the second in that location were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the properties.