Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to save the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was given the award on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation helped spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The notion that funds from performances in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award funds to worthy causes.
Back when the band earned the prize in 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would give their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, musician she divided her bounty across multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," the artist explained to the media.
Previously, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that developed their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year the group contributed their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," said singer Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our success touched another person's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued two local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in Southampton and the other in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
