The musician donates £25,000 cash award to grassroots music venues
The artist has given the full amount of his £25,000 honor cash to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent concert spaces.
Fender was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Recently, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
He also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous local spots across Britain.
The donation assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to difficulties stemming from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received funding support in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from shows in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
He is not the first artist to donate his honor winnings to good deeds.
When Pulp earned the award in 1996 for their record their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
During 2002, artist the artist divided her prize between a few charities, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," the artist told outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their act, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year the group donated their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.
"The victory was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning affected another person's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in that area and the other in that location were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.