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The artist has given the entirety of his £25k award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the United Kingdom's independent music venues.

He was given the award on mid-October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the past year.

He has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots had in his initial steps.

"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

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

The donation assisted venues that were facing possible closure due to issues stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.

"The concept that money from shows in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to good deeds.

When Pulp earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record the album, lead singer Cocker stated that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization War Child.

During 2002, musician the artist split her bounty across several good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," the artist told outlets.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their group, alongside other local music groups.

And the 1994 recipients M People gave their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the condition.

"Receiving the award was ample," said singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched another person's life."

In the past week, the trust shared it had saved a couple of local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.

One venue in that area and the second in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the buildings.