Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the trust for venues, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
Fender was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the performances I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
The donation supported spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges caused by water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The concept that funds from concerts in big venues helps the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his honor winnings to worthy causes.
Back when they received the award in the mid-90s for their album their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would donate their prize money to the organization War Child.
During 2002, musician she split her bounty among several good causes, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required new equipment," she told a publication.
In recent years, they donated their funds to the community center that developed their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the illness.
"The victory was ample," remarked artist Heather Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected several small stages in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in the city were bought under the public acquisition program, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
