Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the Britain's independent live music spots.
He was awarded the prize on 16 October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The money assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces received funding support in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from concerts in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
He is far from the only musician to contribute his honor prize money to worthy causes.
When the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer the singer declared that the group would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her prize between a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," she shared with the media.
In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the local youth club that supported their group, alongside other local music groups.
And winners that year M People donated their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"The victory was ample," remarked artist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT announced it had rescued a couple of local spots in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in that location were bought under the public acquisition program, which is funded by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
