🔗 Share this article The musician contributes his £25k prize cash award to independent live spaces He won the prestigious award recently in Newcastle The star has given the complete sum of his £25k honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the Britain's grassroots concert spaces. He was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year. Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his beginning days. "I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges." Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene. Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages. He also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales. The donation assisted venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues caused by floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints. Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and gear that directly benefitted performers and audiences. "The notion that funds from performances in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated. The group are one example who contributed their honor winnings to good causes He is among several artists to donate his honor funds to charitable organizations. In they earned the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would donate their winnings to the charity the charity. That year, artist the artist shared her prize across a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization. "And I gave a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication. Previously, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other local music groups. Additionally 1994 winners M People contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the illness. "Winning was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success affected somebody else's life." Last week, the MVT shared it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to local control. The Joiners in that area and The Croft in that location were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "shares" in the buildings.