Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the Britain's small concert spaces.
He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has decided to give the cash to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from concerts in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
He is among several artists to donate his award winnings to good deeds.
When the band earned the award in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would give their winnings to the organization War Child.
During 2002, artist the artist shared her bounty between several charities, such as the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Two years ago, the band contributed their winnings to the youth organization that supported their group, as well as other local music groups.
And 1994 winners they gave their winnings to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved two small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in that area and the second in that location were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
