Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the MVT, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
He was given the cheque on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was declared the best record of the past year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages played in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across Britain.
The money supported locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The idea that revenue from performances in large arenas helps the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," the star has said.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award prize money to charitable organizations.
In the band won the trophy in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her prize among a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," the artist told a publication.
In recent years, the band gave their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year they gave their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Winning was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success affected the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had saved two small stages in the South East, by placing them under local control.
The first in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the properties.
