Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the MVT, which operates to preserve the Britain's grassroots music venues.
He was given the award on 16 October as his latest record his work was named the top album of the previous year.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his live tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to issues stemming from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations received funding support in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The notion that funds from shows in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
In the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer the singer announced that the band would give their cash to the organization War Child.
That year, artist she split her award across a few charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a grand to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed updated gear," the artist told a publication.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," said vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected two local spots in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in that area and The Croft in the city were bought under the public acquisition program, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the properties.
