Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k award prize money to the trust for venues, which works to protect the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was presented with the prize on 16 October as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16% of the total UK scene.
Recently, top acts like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
He also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
These funds supported locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The idea that funds from concerts in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
He is among several artists to donate his honor funds to worthy causes.
In they earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their album the album, frontman the singer announced that the act would give their cash to the organization War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her bounty between a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," she explained to a publication.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners the group donated their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had rescued a couple of local spots in that region, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.
