Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which functions to preserve the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
He was awarded the prize on October 16 as his third album the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots had in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across Britain.
The money helped spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The concept that funds from shows in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to donate his honor funds to charitable organizations.
In the band won the prize in the year 1996 for their release their work, lead singer the singer announced that the band would give their winnings to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her bounty between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, alongside other local music groups.
Also winners that year M People gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked vocalist Small. "The money was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the trust revealed it had protected a couple of small stages in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
