Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the MVT, which works to save the UK's small concert spaces.
The star was awarded the prize on mid-October as his new release his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 small stages across Britain.
The donation assisted venues that were confronting possible closure due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that positively impacted artists and fans.
"The notion that revenue from performances in major spaces helps the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
Fender is among several artists to contribute his award funds to good deeds.
Back when they earned the trophy in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would donate their cash to the non-profit the charity.
That year, artist the artist shared her bounty across a few charities, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," the artist explained to a publication.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the youth organization that developed their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked singer Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected several small stages in the South East, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in the city were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.
