🔗 Share this article

The star has given the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.

Fender was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.

Fender has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.

Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight local spots across Britain.

These funds helped venues that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Other venues received financial assistance in upgrading amenities and gear that positively impacted artists and fans.

"The notion that funds from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.

Fender is far from the only musician to give his honor prize money to worthy causes.

Back when the band received the prize in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist Cocker announced that the band would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer she shared her award between a few organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," she explained to outlets.

Two years ago, they gave their winnings to the youth organization that supported their act, alongside other independent music bodies.

And the 1994 recipients M People gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success affected somebody else's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in Southampton and the second in the city were bought under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.