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The artist has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the Britain's independent music venues.

He was given the cheque on mid-October as his latest record the album was declared the outstanding release of the past year.

Fender has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function small stages played in his early career.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation assisted venues that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues received monetary aid in upgrading facilities and gear that positively impacted artists and fans.

"The idea that funds from shows in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.

Fender is not the first artist to donate his award funds to charitable organizations.

In Pulp earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman the singer stated that the band would give their cash to the non-profit the charity.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite divided her prize between several charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a grand to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.

Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the youth organization that developed their act, alongside other independent music bodies.

And winners that year the group contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.

"Winning was ample," remarked singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."

Recently, the trust revealed it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.

One venue in the city and the other in that location were purchased under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the properties.