Sam Fender gives his £25k prize cash award to independent live spaces

The star has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor winnings to the MVT, which functions to save the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.

He was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the past year.

Fender has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots played in his beginning days.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

Sam Fender also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds supported venues that were facing imminent closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces obtained funding support in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.

"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces helps the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has said.

He is among several artists to donate his award winnings to charitable organizations.

In they won the award in 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Cocker declared that the group would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer the artist divided her bounty between multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she told the media.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their act, alongside other local music groups.

Also 1994 winners the group contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the disease.

"Winning was quite enough," remarked singer Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected another person's life."

Last week, the MVT announced it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in the city and the second in that location were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "shares" in the venues.