Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the UK's independent live music spots.
He was given the cheque on mid-October as his third album his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support 38 local spots across Britain.
The money supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations received monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from shows in big venues helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his award funds to worthy causes.
When the band won the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her award among a few charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," she shared with a publication.
In recent years, the band gave their funds to the local youth club that supported their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the disease.
"Winning was quite enough," said artist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had rescued two small stages in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the venues.
