Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the trust for venues, which works to protect the UK's small music venues.
The star was given the prize on October 16 as his latest record the album was declared the top album of the previous year.
The musician has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots had in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in upgrading amenities and gear that helped performers and fans.
"The idea that money from shows in large arenas helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to give his award prize money to charitable organizations.
In Pulp earned the prize in 1996 for their album the album, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would contribute their cash to the charity the charity.
That year, musician she shared her award across several charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," she told a publication.
In recent years, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their group, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients they donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," stated vocalist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the trust announced it had rescued two small stages in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in that location were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
