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

The artist receiving his trophy in the North East
He was awarded the honor last month in Newcastle

The star has donated the entirety of his £25k award prize money to the MVT, which works to save the Britain's small concert spaces.

The star was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album the album was named the top album of the last 12 months.

He has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots played in his early career.

"I wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to assist numerous small stages across the UK.

The money helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to challenges arising from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Some locations received financial assistance in improving facilities and technical equipment that helped musicians and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.

Pulp members on stage
Pulp are among the artists who contributed their award winnings to non-profits

He is not the first artist to contribute his award prize money to good deeds.

In they earned the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman the singer announced that the group would give their prize money to the charity the charity.

During 2002, artist the artist shared her bounty among a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," the artist explained to the media.

In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their band, as well as other independent music bodies.

Also 1994 winners they contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the illness.

"Winning was ample," stated singer Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."

In the past week, the trust revealed it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.

The first in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.

The writer

David Boyd

A cybersecurity specialist with over a decade of experience in network defense and threat analysis, passionate about sharing practical security solutions.

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