Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k honor prize money to the MVT, which functions to save the Britain's small concert spaces.
Fender was given the prize on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
He also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
The money supported venues that were facing possible closure due to issues arising from water damage, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The idea that money from concerts in large arenas backs the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
The musician is among several artists to contribute his award prize money to charitable organizations.
When the band received the award in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, frontman Cocker stated that the band would donate their cash to the organization War Child.
During 2002, musician the artist split her bounty across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," she shared with the media.
Two years ago, they contributed their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients M People contributed their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated vocalist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning affected another person's life."
Recently, the trust revealed it had saved several local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
The first in Southampton and the second in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the properties.
