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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's small live music spots.

He was given the cheque on October 16 as his new release the album was chosen as the top album of the previous year.

Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the shows I did around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Recently, major artists such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.

Sam Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.

These funds helped venues that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and audiences.

"The notion that money from performances in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.

The musician is far from the only musician to donate his honor funds to good deeds.

When the band received the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her bounty among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," the artist told the media.

Previously, they contributed their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

And winners that year M People donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the illness.

"Receiving the award was ample," remarked artist the singer. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our success touched somebody else's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued two local spots in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in the city and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.