Sam Fender has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the Britain's small live music spots.
He was given the award on mid-October as his new release the album was named the best record of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to difficulties caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The notion that money from concerts in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
He is not the first artist to give his award prize money to worthy causes.
Back when Pulp won the prize in the year 1996 for their album the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.
That year, artist she split her award among a few good causes, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.
Two years ago, the band gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients the group contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated vocalist Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."
Recently, the trust shared it had rescued two small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in that area and the other in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the properties.
