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Sam Fender has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's small concert spaces.

Fender was given the prize on 16 October as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.

The musician has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.

Sam Fender also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across Britain.

The donation helped venues that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues received funding support in modernizing facilities and gear that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.

"The concept that revenue from performances in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has said.

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

Back when the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer stated that the group would donate their cash to the charity the charity.

That year, rapper and singer she divided her prize across multiple charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she told a publication.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Also the 1994 recipients the group gave their winnings to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," remarked singer Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected two local spots in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.

The Joiners in the city and the other in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by a national body and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.