Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 award winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to save the UK's small music venues.
Fender was given the award on October 16 as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Recently, top acts like the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
The donation helped locations that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The concept that money from performances in big venues backs the independent spots, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to donate his award prize money to good deeds.
Back when the band received the award in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would give their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her prize among a few organizations, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," the artist explained to the media.
In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their group, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients the group donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved two grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
