Sam Fender contributes twenty-five thousand pounds award winnings to grassroots concert halls
The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25k honor cash to the trust for venues, which functions to save the Britain's small music venues.
The star was given the cheque on mid-October as his third album his work was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help thirty-eight small stages across Britain.
These funds helped locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties caused by flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The notion that money from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is among several artists to contribute his honor prize money to worthy causes.
Back when the band won the trophy in 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist the singer declared that the act would contribute their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, musician the artist split her bounty between a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Previously, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their band, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year M People gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success affected another person's life."
Recently, the trust shared it had saved two grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under community ownership.
The first in that area and the other in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by a national body and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.