Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the MVT, which works to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album People Watching was named the best record of the past year.
He has decided to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges arising from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in improving amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The idea that money from concerts in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
Fender is among several artists to contribute his honor winnings to good deeds.
Back when they received the trophy in 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Cocker announced that the group would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, musician the artist shared her prize across a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
Two years ago, the band contributed their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," said artist Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory touched the lives of others."
Recently, the trust shared it had protected several grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
The first in the city and The Croft in that location were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the venues.
