Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the UK's independent concert spaces.
He was given the cheque on 16 October as his latest record his work was named the best record of the last 12 months.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots had in his initial steps.
"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
He also took part, raising over £100k on his live tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
The money helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in upgrading amenities and gear that helped musicians and audiences.
"The notion that money from performances in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
He is not the first artist to give his award winnings to good deeds.
Back when they won the award in 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her award among multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a grand to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," the artist explained to the media.
Two years ago, the band gave their funds to the youth organization that supported their band, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"The victory was ample," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the trust announced it had saved several local spots in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
