Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 award winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
He was given the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
He also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received funding support in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The idea that money from shows in big venues supports the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award winnings to good deeds.
In the band won the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, vocalist Cocker stated that the act would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her prize across multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," she told a publication.
In recent years, the band contributed their funds to the youth organization that supported their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked singer the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success affected the lives of others."
Recently, the trust shared it had protected two local spots in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in that location were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
