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The star has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the UK's small concert spaces.

Fender was presented with the award on October 16 as his third album People Watching was named the best record of the last 12 months.

Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots had in his early career.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the performances I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.

Sam Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money supported locations that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.

Some locations obtained monetary aid in improving amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.

"The concept that money from performances in major spaces supports the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has commented.

He is among several artists to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.

In they earned the prize in 1996 for their record the album, vocalist the singer stated that the act would donate their winnings to the charity War Child.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I contributed a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist shared with outlets.

Two years ago, they gave their funds to the community center that developed their act, alongside other independent music bodies.

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

"Winning was ample," said vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success impacted somebody else's life."

Last week, the trust shared it had saved several small stages in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.

The Joiners in the city and the other in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by a national body and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.