Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was given the cheque on October 16 as his new release People Watching was declared the top album of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties caused by floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his award prize money to good deeds.
Back when Pulp earned the prize in the mid-90s for their album their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite split her award across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that supported their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued two grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in that area and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.
