Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the UK's independent concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.
He has decided to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages played in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped venues that were facing possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained funding support in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The notion that funds from performances in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
When Pulp received the prize in the year 1996 for their album the album, vocalist Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would contribute their winnings to the organization the charity.
During 2002, musician the artist shared her prize between several good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she told outlets.
Two years ago, they contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their band, as well as other local music groups.
Also 1994 winners M People contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Last week, the trust announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in the city and the other in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who buy "shares" in the properties.
