Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
The star was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to issues stemming from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The notion that funds from concerts in big venues helps the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his award prize money to charitable organizations.
When they won the trophy in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer the singer announced that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer she divided her award among a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," the artist explained to the media.
In recent years, the band gave their prize money to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched the lives of others."
Last week, the trust revealed it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
