Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the MVT, which functions to preserve the UK's grassroots concert spaces.
He was given the prize on 16 October as his latest record his work was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages played in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds supported spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted funding support in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The concept that money from concerts in big venues helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is among several artists to contribute his honor winnings to good deeds.
When they received the trophy in the year 1996 for their release the album, frontman the singer announced that the act would donate their prize money to the organization War Child.
That year, artist she shared her bounty between several organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," she told a publication.
Previously, they donated their winnings to the community center that developed their group, as well as other local music groups.
Also 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease.
"The victory was sufficient," remarked vocalist Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved several local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in the city and the second in the city were acquired under the community ownership program, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
