Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent music venues.
He was given the cheque on October 16 as his third album the album was named the best record of the last 12 months.
He has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues had in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.
These funds assisted spaces that were facing imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and fans.
"The notion that money from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to give his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
In they earned the award in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker declared that the act would donate their prize money to the charity the charity.
During 2002, musician she shared her bounty between several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," she explained to a publication.
Previously, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"The victory was ample," remarked singer Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the trust shared it had saved several grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
