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The star has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which operates to save the Britain's grassroots music venues.

He was awarded the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the best record of the last 12 months.

The musician has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his early career.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.

Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight small stages across the UK.

The donation supported spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues caused by floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces were granted funding support in modernizing amenities and gear that positively impacted artists and fans.

"The notion that money from performances in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.

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

When the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Cocker announced that the band would give their winnings to the organization War Child.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her bounty between several charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," she explained to the media.

Two years ago, they gave their funds to the local youth club that developed their band, as well as other independent music bodies.

And winners that year M People contributed their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.

"Receiving the award was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."

Last week, the MVT revealed it had protected several local spots in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.

One venue in the city and the second in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who purchase "shares" in the buildings.