Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent live music spots.
The star was given the prize on 16 October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages played in his initial steps.
"I personally would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
He also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and audiences.
"The notion that funds from performances in big venues supports the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his honor prize money to worthy causes.
When Pulp won the award in 1996 for their album their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her prize between multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," she explained to the media.
Two years ago, the band contributed their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, as well as other local music groups.
And winners that year the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked artist Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected several small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The first in the city and The Croft in the city were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.
