Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 honor prize money to the MVT, which operates to save the Britain's small live music spots.
The star was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the best record of the previous year.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part small stages played in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I did around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds helped spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges caused by water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The concept that funds from performances in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his honor prize money to worthy causes.
Back when Pulp received the prize in the mid-90s for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would give their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, musician the artist split her award across several charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she explained to outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the community center that developed their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
And the 1994 recipients the group gave their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," stated singer the singer. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in the city were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
