Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent music venues.
The star was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the best record of the past year.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part small stages played in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 small stages across Britain.
These funds supported locations that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in improving infrastructure and gear that helped musicians and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces helps the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to give his honor funds to charitable organizations.
Back when Pulp won the prize in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would give their cash to the organization War Child.
In 2002, artist she divided her award between multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," the artist told a publication.
Previously, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the community center that nurtured their band, alongside other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," said artist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT announced it had rescued two grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in that area and The Croft in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.
