Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k honor prize money to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's independent live music spots.
He was given the prize on October 16 as his new release the album was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.
These funds supported venues that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
Back when they earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their release the album, frontman the singer announced that the band would donate their winnings to the charity the charity.
That year, artist the artist split her bounty across a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist explained to the media.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners the group contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.
"The victory was ample," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved a couple of small stages in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
