Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the MVT, which functions to save the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
He was given the cheque on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was named the best record of the last 12 months.
He has decided to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
He also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from concerts in big venues backs the independent spots, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to give his honor prize money to worthy causes.
In Pulp earned the prize in the mid-90s for their album their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her prize across several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," she told the media.
Previously, they gave their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their group, as well as other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," stated artist Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued a couple of local spots in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
