Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 honor winnings to the MVT, which functions to protect the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues played in his initial steps.
"I personally would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the shows I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
He also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported locations that were confronting possible closure due to difficulties caused by floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and gear that helped performers and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in big venues backs the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
When Pulp received the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Cocker declared that the act would donate their cash to the charity the charity.
That year, rapper and singer the artist split her award across several good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," she explained to a publication.
Previously, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their group, as well as other local music groups.
Additionally 1994 winners M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.
"The victory was ample," remarked vocalist Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory affected another person's life."
Last week, the trust revealed it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
