Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k award winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was given the prize on mid-October as his third album his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
He also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 small stages across Britain.
These funds assisted venues that were confronting possible closure due to issues arising from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The notion that funds from performances in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
The musician is not the first artist to give his honor prize money to good deeds.
In they received the trophy in 1996 for their album the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, artist she shared her prize among several good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," she explained to the media.
Two years ago, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners the group gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked singer the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected the lives of others."
Recently, the trust announced it had saved two small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
