Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the UK's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was awarded the prize on mid-October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
He has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role small stages played in his beginning days.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money assisted locations that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing facilities and gear that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his award funds to charitable organizations.
Back when the band received the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, frontman Cocker declared that the group would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her prize among multiple organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
Previously, they donated their prize money to the community center that developed their band, alongside other independent music bodies.
Additionally the 1994 recipients the group donated their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated singer Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved a couple of small stages in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in that area and the second in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
