The musician gives twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to small live spaces

Sam Fender holding his trophy in his hometown
He was awarded the honor recently in the North East

Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k honor cash to the MVT, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.

He was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his latest record the album was chosen as the best record of the past year.

Fender has decided to give the cash to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots had in his early career.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

He also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across the UK.

The money helped locations that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.

Some locations received monetary aid in improving infrastructure and gear that positively impacted performers and fans.

"The concept that money from performances in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.

The band Pulp performing
The group are among the artists who gave their honor prize money to non-profits

He is not the first artist to donate his honor funds to charitable organizations.

In the band received the prize in the year 1996 for their album their work, frontman Cocker stated that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her award between a few charities, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the community center that supported their group, in addition to other local music groups.

Also winners that year M People gave their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.

"Winning was ample," remarked singer the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted the lives of others."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by a national body and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the properties.

John Rhodes
John Rhodes

Maya is a seasoned gaming enthusiast with over a decade of experience in online casinos, sharing tips and reviews for players in New Zealand.

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