Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the Britain's small live music spots.
He was awarded the prize on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was named the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous local spots across the UK.
These funds supported spaces that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in improving amenities and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from shows in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
He is not the first artist to contribute his honor funds to worthy causes.
In Pulp won the prize in 1996 for their album the album, vocalist the singer declared that the band would give their cash to the non-profit the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her bounty across several charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," she told the media.
Previously, the band donated their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had saved a couple of local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in the city and the other in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
