Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
He was given the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was chosen as the top album of the past year.
Fender has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages played in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped locations that were facing imminent closure due to issues stemming from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained funding support in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from shows in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is among several artists to contribute his honor winnings to charitable organizations.
In they received the trophy in the mid-90s for their release their work, lead singer Cocker declared that the group would give their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist shared her prize between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist told a publication.
Previously, the band gave their prize money to the local youth club that supported their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the disease.
"The victory was ample," said artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had saved two local spots in that region, by bringing them into local control.
The first in that area and the second in the city were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the properties.
