Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was given the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the past year.
Fender has decided to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues had in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.
The money assisted spaces that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in improving infrastructure and gear that helped performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from concerts in large arenas helps the local stages, where it begins for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his honor winnings to worthy causes.
When they earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would give their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her award between a few charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," she shared with the media.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the youth organization that supported their act, as well as other local music groups.
And 1994 winners M People gave their award to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected several small stages in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in the city were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
