Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
The star was given the cheque on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues played in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Recently, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 local spots across Britain.
The money assisted venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The concept that money from shows in big venues supports the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.
He is far from the only musician to donate his award winnings to charitable organizations.
In the band received the award in the mid-90s for their record the album, frontman Cocker declared that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization War Child.
That year, musician she split her prize across several charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she explained to outlets.
Previously, they contributed their funds to the community center that developed their band, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year they gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," said artist the singer. "The money was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued several grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were bought under the community ownership program, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "shares" in the venues.
