Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
Fender was awarded the prize on 16 October as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, major artists like the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money assisted venues that were confronting imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to donate his award prize money to charitable organizations.
In they earned the award in the mid-90s for their release their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would donate their cash to the organization the charity.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her bounty across multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Winning was ample," said artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the trust announced it had saved a couple of small stages in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and the second in the city were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.
