Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award winnings to the MVT, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
Fender was given the cheque on 16 October as his third album the album was declared the top album of the previous year.
The musician has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his beginning days.
"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the performances I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money assisted spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by water damage, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and gear that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces helps the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his honor winnings to charitable organizations.
When they won the award in 1996 for their album their work, vocalist the singer announced that the band would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite split her prize across a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," the artist explained to outlets.
In recent years, the band gave their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year the group contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had saved two local spots in the South East, by placing them under local control.
The first in that area and The Croft in the city were acquired under the public acquisition program, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
