Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25k honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's independent music venues.
The star was given the prize on October 16 as his new release the album was declared the best record of the past year.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function local spots played in his initial steps.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16% of the total UK scene.
In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his live tour to help numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported locations that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, fires and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in improving facilities and gear that positively impacted performers and fans.
"The idea that money from concerts in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is not the first artist to give his honor winnings to charitable organizations.
When the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their album the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would give their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, artist she split her prize between a few charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
Previously, they gave their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients the group donated their winnings to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the trust revealed it had rescued two grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and the second in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the properties.
