Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
The star was awarded the award on mid-October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots had 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 further afield, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 small stages across Britain.
The money supported spaces that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges caused by floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues received monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his award funds to charitable organizations.
In the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their album the album, frontman Cocker declared that the group would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, musician the artist divided her bounty across multiple charities, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," the artist explained to outlets.
Two years ago, the band gave their winnings to the community center that developed their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners the group contributed their award to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Winning was quite enough," stated artist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success affected another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved several small stages in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the other in that location were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
