Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the UK's small music venues.
He was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his third album the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues stemming from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Other venues obtained funding support in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces supports the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
He is among several artists to contribute his award funds to charitable organizations.
When the band received the award in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit the charity.
That year, musician she shared her prize among several organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," she told the media.
Previously, they gave their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners they donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was sufficient," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued several small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and the second in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
