Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the UK's independent concert spaces.
The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was named the best record of the previous year.
The musician has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted locations that were confronting possible closure due to issues stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues were granted funding support in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from shows in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to donate his award winnings to charitable organizations.
Back when the band received the award in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker announced that the act would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
In 2002, artist the artist split her bounty among several charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
Previously, they donated their prize money to the community center that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
And winners that year they gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked singer Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected several local spots in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
One venue in the city and the other in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.
