Sam Fender has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor prize money to the MVT, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
Fender was given the award on October 16 as his latest record the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part small stages had in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from shows in big venues supports the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to give his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
In Pulp received the prize in 1996 for their album their work, lead singer Cocker announced that the band would donate their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
That year, artist she split her bounty across a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Previously, the band contributed their prize money to the local youth club that supported their act, in addition to other local music groups.
And winners that year they donated their award to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," said artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved several grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in that location were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
