Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
Fender was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his latest record his work was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
He is not the first artist to give his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
In they received the prize in 1996 for their release their work, vocalist the singer declared that the band would give their cash to the charity War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her award across several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist told the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their act, alongside other independent music bodies.
And winners that year they gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the MVT announced it had rescued several local spots in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in that location were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.
