Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues played in his initial steps.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from performances in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his honor funds to worthy causes.
In they earned the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer the singer announced that the act would contribute their prize money to the charity the charity.
That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her bounty among a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite told the media.
Two years ago, the band gave their prize money to the community center that developed their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," said singer Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved two small stages in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The Joiners in that area and the second in that location were bought under the community ownership program, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the venues.
