Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's small live music spots.
The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the best record of the past year.
The musician has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, well-known musicians including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support 38 small stages across the UK.
The donation supported locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces received funding support in improving amenities and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his award prize money to good deeds.
When Pulp earned the prize in 1996 for their record their work, lead singer the singer stated that the act would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer she shared her prize across multiple organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they needed updated gear," the artist told a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the local youth club that developed their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners M People donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"Winning was ample," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the trust announced it had rescued several local spots in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.
One venue in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.
