Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the Britain's small concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
He also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 local spots across Britain.
These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues caused by floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The notion that money from shows in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
The musician is among several artists to give his award prize money to good deeds.
When they earned the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, vocalist the singer stated that the act would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her prize between a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," the artist shared with a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that developed their band, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year M People gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked artist Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued a couple of local spots in the South East, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the properties.
