Sam Fender contributes his £25k prize cash award to small music venues
The artist has given the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the trust for venues, which operates to save the Britain's grassroots music venues.
He was presented with the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was declared the top album of the previous year.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots had in his initial steps.
"I personally would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his live tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds helped locations that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations received financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from concerts in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to donate his award funds to charitable organizations.
When Pulp won the award in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would donate their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her prize across a few charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also gave a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," the artist told outlets.
In recent years, the band contributed their winnings to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year the group gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the disease.
"Winning was quite enough," said singer Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in that area and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by a national body and music fans who acquire "shares" in the buildings.