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The artist has given the full amount of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.

The star was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots played in his early career.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, major artists including the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.

Sam Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.

These funds supported spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.

"The notion that funds from shows in big venues backs the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.

The musician is far from the only musician to donate his honor funds to charitable organizations.

Back when Pulp won the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, vocalist Cocker announced that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.

That year, musician the artist divided her bounty between multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also gave a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," she shared with a publication.

Previously, they gave their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.

"Winning was sufficient," remarked artist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success touched the lives of others."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected several local spots in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The first in Southampton and the other in that location were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.