Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's independent concert spaces.
The star was given the award on October 16 as his third album the album was named the best record of the previous year.
Fender has decided to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots played in his early career.
"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help 38 small stages across Britain.
The money helped locations that were facing imminent closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations received monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that helped performers and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his award funds to good deeds.
When the band received the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer she shared her prize between a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," the artist shared with a publication.
Two years ago, they donated their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their band, in addition to other local music groups.
Also winners that year they donated their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.
"Winning was sufficient," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our success touched another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in the city and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by a national body and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the venues.
