Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the Britain's small live music spots.
The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was named the top album of the last 12 months.
He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his live tour to help numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported locations that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
The musician is among several artists to donate his award prize money to charitable organizations.
In the band won the trophy in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman the singer declared that the act would donate their winnings to the organization the charity.
In 2002, musician the artist divided her bounty across a few organizations, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," she explained to outlets.
In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their group, in addition to other local music groups.
And winners that year M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," stated singer Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our success affected the lives of others."
Last week, the trust revealed it had rescued several local spots in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
