Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the Britain's independent concert spaces.
He was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
He also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
The money assisted spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received funding support in upgrading infrastructure and gear that positively impacted musicians and fans.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his award funds to worthy causes.
In the band won the prize in 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
That year, artist the artist divided her prize across several good causes, such as the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated vocalist Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the trust announced it had rescued several grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The Joiners in that area and the second in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
