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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent live music spots.

Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the past year.

He has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous small stages across the UK.

The money assisted locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.

Some locations obtained monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted artists and audiences.

"The concept that money from shows in major spaces supports the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.

He is not the first artist to contribute his honor prize money to worthy causes.

Back when the band received the award in the year 1996 for their record the album, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty among multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," she shared with a publication.

In recent years, they gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated vocalist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning affected the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT shared it had saved several small stages in the South East, by placing them under local control.

One venue in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is backed by a national body and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.