Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
Fender was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across the UK.
The donation assisted venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The concept that money from concerts in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," the star has said.
Fender is among several artists to donate his honor funds to worthy causes.
In the band earned the prize in the mid-90s for their album their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite split her award across a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave 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," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
In recent years, they gave their funds to the community center that supported their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
And winners that year the group contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," said vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
