Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to save the Britain's small live music spots.
Fender was given the prize on October 16 as his latest record the album was named the best record of the last 12 months.
The musician has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The money supported venues that were confronting possible closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received financial assistance in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that helped musicians and fans.
"The concept that money from concerts in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
He is among several artists to give his award funds to worthy causes.
In the band won the award in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman the singer stated that the band would donate their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, musician the artist split her prize among a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, the band gave their winnings to the community center that developed their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year the group gave their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked artist Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success impacted another person's life."
Last week, the trust announced it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the properties.
