The artist gives £25,000 award winnings to independent music venues

Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25k award prize money to the trust for venues, which works to save the United Kingdom's small live music spots.

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

The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function small stages played in his beginning days.

"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16% of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, major artists including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous local spots across the UK.

The donation helped venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces obtained funding support in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and fans.

"The concept that funds from concerts in large arenas helps the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.

He is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to charitable organizations.

In they won the prize in 1996 for their album the album, vocalist Cocker stated that the act would contribute their winnings to the organization the charity.

That year, artist the artist shared her award across a few charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with the media.

Previously, they gave their funds to the community center that nurtured their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Additionally 1994 winners they donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease.

"The victory was ample," remarked artist Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted the lives of others."

In the past week, the trust shared it had rescued several small stages in the South East, by placing them under local control.

One venue in Southampton and the second in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the venues.