Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 award winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's independent concert spaces.
He was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.
"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that helped musicians and audiences.
"The concept that funds from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
Fender is among several artists to contribute his honor winnings to worthy causes.
In the band won the prize in 1996 for their record the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician the artist divided her award between a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners M People contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated artist the singer. "The money was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the MVT shared it had saved a couple of small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in the city and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is funded by a national body and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
