Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 award cash to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the past year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages played in his early career.
"I would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These locations are renowned, 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.
Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his live tour to support numerous small stages across the UK.
The donation helped venues that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The idea that money from shows in big venues backs the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his award funds to charitable organizations.
When the band won the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer stated that the group would contribute their prize money to the charity War Child.
During 2002, artist the artist divided her award among a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed updated gear," the artist shared with the media.
Previously, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that supported their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
The first in that area and The Croft in that location were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.
