Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k award winnings to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's small concert spaces.
He was given the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function local spots had in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist 38 small stages across the UK.
These funds helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received funding support in improving infrastructure and gear that positively impacted musicians and fans.
"The idea that revenue from shows in large arenas supports the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his honor winnings to worthy causes.
Back when Pulp received the prize in the year 1996 for their album the album, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would give their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite shared her prize among a few good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that developed their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
And winners that year M People gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success touched the lives of others."
Recently, the trust shared it had protected two grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in that area and the second in the city were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.
