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Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the Britain's independent music venues.

The star was given the cheque on October 16 as his latest record his work was declared the top album of the previous year.

He has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots played in his early career.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.

Fender also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous local spots across Britain.

These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues caused by water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in improving amenities and technical equipment that helped musicians and fans.

"The idea that funds from concerts in major spaces supports the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.

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

Back when the band earned the prize in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Cocker announced that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit the charity.

That year, rapper and singer the artist divided her bounty among a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also contributed a grand to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite told the media.

Previously, they gave their prize money to the community center that nurtured their group, in addition to other local music groups.

And winners that year M People gave their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.

"Winning was ample," remarked singer the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected somebody else's life."

In the past week, the trust announced it had saved several local spots in the South East, by bringing them into local control.

The first in that area and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "shares" in the properties.