Sam Fender gives £25,000 award winnings to small music venues

The artist has donated the full amount of his £25k award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.

The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his third album the album was named the best record of the past year.

He has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.

"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous small stages across the UK.

The donation assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.

"The concept that revenue from concerts in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.

The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his honor winnings to good deeds.

When Pulp earned the prize in 1996 for their record Different Class, frontman the singer declared that the band would contribute their cash to the organization the charity.

During 2002, artist the artist shared her bounty among a few organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," the artist explained to a publication.

Previously, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the community center that nurtured their act, alongside other independent music bodies.

Also winners that year M People donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated vocalist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of small stages in that region, by placing them under community ownership.

The first in that area and the second in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "stakes" in the venues.