Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's grassroots live music spots.
He was given the prize on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his live tour to support numerous small stages across the UK.
The donation helped venues that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations received funding support in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and fans.
"The concept that money from concerts in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
The musician is not the first artist to give his honor funds to worthy causes.
When Pulp received the trophy in 1996 for their record the album, vocalist the singer declared that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist split her prize between multiple charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
Previously, the band donated their funds to the youth organization that developed their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.
And winners that year M People donated their prize to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," stated vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
One venue in the city and the second in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by a national body and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.
