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The artist contributes twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to independent live spaces

The artist accepting his trophy in the North East
He won the prestigious award in October in Newcastle

The star has donated the complete sum of his £25k award cash to the trust for venues, which functions to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.

The star was awarded the prize on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the top album of the last 12 months.

The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function small stages had in his initial steps.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, well-known musicians 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 small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.

He also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and gear that positively impacted performers and fans.

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

The band Pulp performing
Pulp are one example who contributed their award winnings to non-profits

The musician is among several artists to donate his award winnings to good deeds.

Back when the band received the trophy in the mid-90s for their album their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.

During 2002, artist the artist shared her prize among multiple organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she explained to a publication.

Previously, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the youth organization that supported their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the disease.

"The victory was quite enough," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success touched somebody else's life."

In the past week, the trust shared it had protected two local spots in the South East, by placing them under local control.

One venue in the city and The Croft in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.

Written by

Wesley Mcguire

Lena is a tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering AI and cybersecurity trends across Europe.

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