Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
He was awarded the award on October 16 as his third album his work was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
He has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist numerous small stages across the UK.
These funds supported venues that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that helped musicians and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
He is not the first artist to give his honor winnings to good deeds.
In they won the prize in the mid-90s for their release the album, frontman the singer announced that the band would give their cash to the organization the charity.
That year, artist she shared her prize across a few organizations, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," she told outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the community center that nurtured their band, in addition to other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients M People donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," remarked artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory touched another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
