Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
He was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his latest record his work was named the top album of the past year.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages had in his initial steps.
"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the region, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.
He also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to support 38 local spots across the UK.
The money helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues obtained funding support in improving amenities and gear that helped performers and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
The musician is among several artists to donate his award prize money to charitable organizations.
In they received the award in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would give their winnings to the organization the charity.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between multiple charities, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their act, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also 1994 winners they gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the condition.
"The victory was ample," stated artist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
