British Phonographic Industry

Music industry trade association in the UK

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "British Phonographic Industry" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "British Phonographic Industry" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

British Phonographic Industry

BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited

Abbreviation| BPI
Formation| 4 September 1973; 51 years ago (1973-09-04)[1]
Legal status| Nonprofit organization
Purpose| Music industry in the United Kingdom
Location|

* London

Region served

| United Kingdom
Membership| British music companies

Chair

| YolanDa Brown

Chief executive

| Sophie Jones (interim)

Main organ

| BPI Council
Website| bpi.co.uk

BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited,[1] trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts Company with the Entertainment Retailers Association; and awards UK music sales through the BRIT Certified Awards.

## Structure

[edit]

Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies, including (Sony Music UK, Universal Music UK, Warner Music UK), and over 500 independent record labels and small to medium-sized music businesses.

The BPI council is the management and policy forum of the BPI. It is chaired by the Chair of BPI, and includes the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer (COO), General Counsel, Chief Strategy Officer and 12 representatives from the recorded music sector: six from major labels – two each from the three "major" companies – and six from the independent sector, who are selected by voting of all BPI independent label members.[2]

## History

[edit]

BPI has represented the interests of British record companies since being formally incorporated in 1973, when the principal aim was to promote British music and fight copyright infringement.

In 2007, the association's legal name was changed from "British Phonographic Industry Limited (The)" to "BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited".

In September 2008, the BPI became one of the founding members of UK Music, an umbrella organisation representing the interests of all parts of the industry.

In July 2022, YolanDa Brown was appointed chair of BPI, replacing Ged Doherty, who had served in that role the previous seven years.[3]

In July 2023, Jo Twist was appointed chief executive of BPI, replacing Geoff Taylor, who had served in the role since 2007.

### Awards

[edit]

BPI founded the annual BRIT Awards for the British music industry in 1977, and, later, the Classic BRIT Awards. The organising company, BRIT Awards Limited, is a fully owned subsidiary of the BPI. Proceeds from both shows go to the BRIT Trust, the charitable arm of the BPI that has distributed almost £30m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation in 1989. In September 2013, the BPI presented the first ever BRITs Icon Award to Elton John. The BPI also endorsed the launch of the Mercury Prize for the Album of the Year in 1992, and since 2016 has organised the Prize.

The recorded music industry's Certified Awards programme, which attributes Platinum, Gold and Silver status to singles, albums and music videos (Platinum and Gold only) based on their sales performance (see BRIT Certified Awards), has been administered by the BPI since its inception in 1973.

## BRIT Trust

[edit]

The BRIT Trust is the recognised charitable arm of the BPI. It was conceived in 1989 by BPI and a collection of music industry individuals. The BRIT Trust is the only music charity actively supporting all types of music education. Proceeds from the BRIT Awards and The Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS) go to the BRIT Trust, which has donated almost £30m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation. As of 2024, beneficiaries include The BRIT School, Nordoff and Robbins, East London Arts and Music, Music Support, and Key 4 Life.

## BRIT School

[edit]

Opened in September 1991, the BRIT School is a joint venture between The BRIT Trust and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Based at Selhurst in Croydon, the comprehensive school describes itself as the leading performing and creative arts school in the UK and is completely free to attend.[4] It teaches over 1,400 students each year aged from 14 to 19 years in music, dance, drama, musical theatre, production, media and art and design. Students are from diverse backgrounds and are not required to stick to their own discipline; dancers learn songwriting, pianists can learn photography.[5][6]

In August 2023, the Department for Education approved BPI’s plan to open a new specialist creative school in Bradford, West Yorkshire, inspired by the successful model of the BRIT School in Croydon.

## Certifications

[edit]

A Gold certification for Eric Clapton's album August

The BPI administers the BRIT Certified Platinum, Gold and Silver awards scheme for music releases in the United Kingdom. The level of the award varies depending on the format of the release (albums, singles or music videos) and the level of sales achieved. Although the awards programme was for many years based on the level of shipments by record labels to retailers, since July 2013 certifications have been automatically allocated by the BPI upon the relevant sales thresholds being achieved in accordance with Official Charts Company data.

Since July 2014, streaming media has been included for singles and from June 2015 audio streams were added to album certifications. In July 2018 video streams were included in singles certifications for the first time. Streaming's contributions to chart-eligible sales totals for singles and albums are calculated using the methodology employed by the Official Charts Company for consumption at title level.

In April 2018, a new Breakthrough certification was introduced, pertaining to an artist's first album to reach 30,000 sales. Additionally, the programme was re-branded as BRIT Certified, with public promotion of the programme being assumed by the BRIT Awards' social media outlets and digital properties. Former Chief Executive Geoff Taylor justified the change by stating that it was part of an effort to cross-promote the certifications with "the UK's biggest platform for artistic achievement".[7]

In May 2023, BPI launched an expansion of the BRIT Certified Awards Scheme with BRIT Billion, which celebrates outstanding achievement in recorded music by surpassing the landmark of one billion career UK streams – as calculated by the Official Charts Company. Recipients to date include RAYE, Billie Eilish, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Olivia Rodrigo, Katy Perry, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Wizkid and Coldplay. In Autumn 2023, Ed Sheeran was presented with a special edition Gold BRIT Billion Award, celebrating his achievement as the first British artist to surpass ten billion career UK streams.

Format  | Status[8]

|

Silver  | Gold  | Platinum
Album  | 60,000[nb 1] | 100,000[nb 1] | 300,000[nb 1]
Single  | 200,000[nb 2] | 400,000[nb 2] | 600,000[nb 2]
Music DVD  | —  | 25,000  | 50,000

## Anti-piracy operations

[edit]

The BPI have developed bespoke software and automated crawling tools created in-house by the BPI which search for members' repertoire across more than 400 known infringing sites and generate URLs which are sent to Google as a DMCA Notice for removal within hours of receipt.[10] Additionally, personnel are also seconded to the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit to support anti-"piracy" operations.

## See also

[edit]

* Home Taping Is Killing Music
* Official Charts Company
* List of music recording certifications
* Parental Advisory

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c The number of sales required to qualify for Platinum, Gold and Silver discs was changed to the current thresholds of Platinum (300,000 units), Gold (100,000 units) and Silver (60,000 units) in 1979 for albums above a minimum RRP. Below the minimum RRP, the thresholds are doubled. Prior to this, the thresholds were based on monetary revenue: Platinum (£1,000,000), Gold (£150,000 from April 1973 to September 1974, £250,000 from September 1974 to January 1977, and £300,000 from 1977 until 1979) and Silver (£75,000 from April 1973 to January 1975, £100,000 from January 1975 to January 1977, and £150,000 from 1977 until 1979).
2. ^ a b c The number of sales required to qualify for Platinum, Gold and Silver discs was dropped for singles released after 1 January 1989 to the current thresholds of Silver (200,000 units), Gold (400,000 units), and Platinum (600,000 units). Prior to this, the thresholds were Silver (250,000 units), Gold (500,000 units), and Platinum (1,000,000 units).[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited overview - Find and update company information - Gov.uk". Companies House. 4 September 1973. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
2. ^ "BPI Council Election Results Announced". BPI. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
3. ^ Campbell, Joel (18 July 2022). "YolanDa Brown appointed Chair of the BPI". The Voice. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
4. ^ "Pupil Premium Policy". The BRIT School. November 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
5. ^ Smith, David (15 February 2004). "Out of Croydon, the real Fame Academy". The Observer.
6. ^ Braddock, Kevin (28 January 2007). "Fame Academy: The Brit School". The Independent.
7. ^ Garner, George (6 April 2018). "BPI rebrands platinum, gold and silver discs as BRIT Certified Awards". Music Week. Future. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
8. ^ "BRIT Certified – Certification Levels". British Phonographic Industry. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
9. ^ Gallup (4 February 1989). "The Top of the Pops Chart" (PDF). Record Mirror: 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
10. ^ IP Crime Group. "IP Crime Report 2013/14" (PDF). p. 52\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.

* v
* t
* e

Music of the United Kingdom

Art music|

* Early music
* England
* Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales
* Baroque
* Classical

History of popular music|

* Early popular music
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s and 2010s

Traditional genres|

* British folk revival
* Ballad
* Carol
* Children's song
* Hornpipe
* Jig
* Morris dance
* Protest song
* Reel
* Sea shanty
* Strathspey
* War song
* Work song

Contemporary
popular genres|

* Afrobeats
* Afroswing
* Americana
* Country
* Folk
* England
* Scotland
* Wales
* Grime
* Hip Hop
* Drill
* Jazz
* Pop
* Popular
* Rock
* Soul
* Schlager

Ethnic music|

* Caribbean
* England
* Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

Media and
performance|

| Music awards|

* BBC Music Awards
* BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
* Brit Awards
* Classic Brit Awards
* Global Awards
* Gramophone Classical Music Awards
* Ivor Novello Awards
* Kerrang! Awards
* Mercury Prize
* MOBO Awards

|

Music charts|

* Albums chart
* Classical charts
* Compilation chart
* Country chart
* Dance chart
* Download chart
* Indie chart
* R&B chart
* Rock chart
* Singles chart
* Subscription plays chart

Music festivals|

* Boomtown
* C2C: Country to Country
* Cambridge Folk
* Download
* Edinburgh
* Eisteddfod
* Glastonbury
* Isle of Wight
* Knebworth
* Royal National Mòd
* The Proms
* Reading and Leeds
* Sidmouth
* T in the Park
* V

Music media|

* fRoots
* The Gramophone
* Kerrang!
* Melody Maker
* Mojo
* NME
* Q
* The Wire

National anthem|

* "God Save the King"

Regional music|

| British Isles|

* Birmingham (Classical music, Jazz, Popular music)
* Cardiff
* Cornwall
* Liverpool
* Manchester
* Newport
* Northumbria
* Somerset
* Sussex
* Yorkshire

|

Overseas|

* Anguilla
* Bermuda
* Cayman Islands
* Gibraltar
* Montserrat
* Turks and Caicos
* Virgin Islands

* v
* t
* e

Media in the United Kingdom

UK national newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals

| Newspapers
(history, circulation)|

| Broadsheet|

* Financial Times
* The Daily Telegraph
* The Sunday Telegraph
* The Sunday Times

|

Compact|

* The i Paper
* The Times
* The Guardian
* The Observer

Middle-market|

* Daily Express
* Daily Mail
* The Mail on Sunday

Tabloid|

* Daily Mirror
* Sunday Mirror
* Morning Star
* The Sunday People
* Daily Star
* Daily Star Sunday
* The Sun
* Sunday Sport
* Weekend Sport
* Midweek Sport

Online|

* 5Pillars

Magazines and
other periodicals|

* List of magazines in the United Kingdom
* List of magazines by circulation

Radio in the UK

| National
stations|

| BBC|

BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 Extra
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Asian Network
BBC World Service
BBC National DAB (multiplex)

|

Independent
/ commercial|

Absolute Radio Network
BFBS Radio
Capital
Capital Xtra
Classic FM
Digital One (multiplex)
Gold
Greatest Hits Radio
Heart
Hits Radio
Jazz FM
Kiss Network
LBC
LBC News
Magic
Magic Classical
Premier Christian Radio
RNIB Connect Radio
Sound Digital (multiplex)
Smooth Radio
talkSPORT
TalkRadio
Times Radio
UCB UK
Virgin Radio UK
Radio X

Regional
and local
stations|

| BBC|

List of BBC Local Radio stations
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Radio Foyle
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Cymru

Cymru 2

|

Independent
/ commercial|

* List of community radio stations
* List of local commercial radio stations
* List of semi-national / regional analogue and digital radio stations

Other
stations|

* List of hospital radio stations
* Pirate radio
* Restricted Service Licence (RSL)
* List of RSL stations
* List of student radio stations

Other|

* Broadcasting House
* FM broadcasting
* Radio Academy
* Radio Academy Awards
* Radio Independents Group
* RAJAR
* Most listened to programmes

Television in the UK

| Principal
channels
(list)|

| BBC/UKTV|

BBC One
BBC Two
BBC Three
BBC Four
BBC News
BBC Parliament
BBC Alba
BBC Scotland
CBBC
CBeebies
U&Alibi
U&Dave
U&Drama
U&Eden
U&Gold
U&W
U&Yesterday

|

ITV|

ITV1/STV/UTV
ITV2
ITV3
ITV4
ITV Quiz

Channel 4/S4C|

Channel 4
S4C

E4 Extra
Film4
More4
4seven

Paramount|

5Star
5USA
5Select
5Action
Comedy Central
Comedy Central Extra
MTV
MTV Music
MTV 80s
MTV 90s
Club MTV
Nickelodeon
Nicktoons
Nick Jr.

Sky UK|

Challenge
Sky Arts
Sky Atlantic
Sky Cinema
Sky Comedy
Sky Crime
Sky Documentaries
Sky History
Sky History 2
Sky Kids
Sky Max
Sky Mix
Sky Nature
Sky News
Sky Replay
Sky Sci-Fi
Sky Showcase
Sky Sports Box Office
Sky Sports F1
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports Racing
Sky Sports
Sky Witness

Warner Bros. Discovery|

Animal Planet
Boomerang
Cartoon Network
Cartoonito
CNN International
Discovery Channel
Discovery History
Discovery Science
Discovery Turbo
DMAX
Food Network
HGTV
Investigation Discovery
Quest
Quest Red
Really
TLC
TNT Sports

Narrative Entertainment UK Limited|

Great! Action
Great! Movies
Great! Romance
Great! Real
Great! TV
Pop
Tiny Pop

Services
and
platforms|

| Current|

* Amazon Prime Video
* BBC iPlayer
* cable
* Channel 4
* digital
* digital terrestrial
* List of channels
* Disney+
* EE TV
* 5
* Freely
* Freesat
* Freesat+
* Freeview
* high-definition
* List of channels
* ITV
* ITVX
* STV Player
* local television
* Now
* Netflix
* Paramount+
* Pop Player
* Restricted Service Licence
* satellite
* List of channels
* Sky Group
* Sky Q
* Sky Glass
* Sky Stream
* TalkTalk TV
* TVPlayer
* U
* Virgin Media
* FilmFlex
* TiVo
* YouView

|

Defunct|

* analogue
* analogue terrestrial
* BBC Store
* Film4oD
* Real Digital
* Sky Group
* Freesat from Sky
* On Demand
* Sky+
* Sky+ HD
* TalkTalk TV Store
* Top Up TV
* Virgin Media
* V+

Studios|

| Current|

* 3 Mills Studios
* BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House
* BBC Elstree Centre
* BBC Pacific Quay
* The Bottle Yard Studios
* Broadcasting House
* Broadcasting House, Belfast
* Broadcasting House, Bristol
* Dock10
* Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)
* Gas Street Studios
* The Leeds Studios
* The Maidstone Studios
* Mailbox Birmingham
* MediaCityUK
* Old Granada Studios
* Riverside Studios
* Roath Lock
* The Sharp Project
* Sky Campus
* Space Studios Manchester
* Television Centre, London

|

Defunct|

* Broadcasting House, Cardiff
* Dickenson Road Studios
* Fountain Studios
* The Hospital Club
* Lime Grove Studios
* Limehouse Studios
* The London Studios
* MGM-British Studios
* New Broadcasting House, Manchester
* Pebble Mill Studios
* Teddington Studios
* Television Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne
* Television Centre, Southampton
* Upper Boat Studios

Other|

* Television in Northern Ireland
* in Scotland
* in Wales
* Defunct channels
* Edinburgh International Television Festival
* History
* List of years
* Viewing statistics
* Most-watched broadcasts

Companies and organisations

| Major
companies|

* Banijay UK Productions
* Bauer Media Audio UK
* BBC
* Bloomsbury Publishing
* BT Group
* Channel Four Television Corporation
* Daily Mail and General Trust
* Dentsu International
* Economist Group
* EMI Music Publishing
* Future plc
* Global Media & Entertainment
* Guardian Media Group
* Haymarket Media Group
* Informa
* ITN
* ITV plc
* National World
* News Broadcasting
* News UK
* Newsquest
* Pearson plc
* Press Holdings
* Reach plc
* RELX
* Reuters
* Sky
* STV Group
* Syco
* TalkTalk Group
* Paramount Networks UK & Australia
* Virgin Media O2
* The Walt Disney Company (UK) Ltd.
* Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA

|

Resources|

* Arqiva
* List of largest UK book publishers

Government and
regulatory bodies|

* Advertising Standards Authority
* BBC Board (formerly: BBC Trust
* Board of Governors of the BBC)
* British Board of Film Classification
* British Film Institute
* Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee
* Department for Culture, Media and Sport
* Independent Press Standards Organisation
* Ofcom
* Press Recognition Panel
* S4C Authority

Industry and
trades bodies|

* British Academy of Film and Television Arts
* British Phonographic Industry
* Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
* Clearcast
* Digital TV Group
* Equity
* Everyone TV
* Federation Against Copyright Theft
* Independent Publishers Guild
* National Union of Journalists
* The Publishers Association
* Royal Television Society
* United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting

Other|

* BBC Academy
* National Film and Television School
* National Science and Media Museum

Regional and student media

| Regional media|

* Media in England
* Birmingham
* London
* Manchester
* Media in Scotland
* Aberdeen
* Dundee
* Glasgow
* Media in Wales
* Cardiff

|

Student media|

* Student television
* Student press

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Music recording certification associations

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)

Africa|

* RISA (South Africa)
* TCSN (Nigeria)

Americas|

* AMPROFON (Mexico)
* AVINPRO (Venezuela)
* CAPIF (Argentina)
* CFC (Central America)
* CUD (Uruguay)
* Music Canada (Canada)
* PMB (Brazil)
* RIAA (US)
* SGP (Paraguay)
* UNIMPRO (Peru)

Asia|

* ASIRI (Indonesia)
* IMI (India)
* KMCA (South Korea)
* PARI (Philippines)
* RIAJ (Japan)
* RIAS (Singapore)
* RIM (Malaysia)
* RIT (Taiwan)
* TECA (Thailand)

Europe|

* AFP (Portugal)
* BAMP (Bulgaria)
* BPI (UK)
* BRMA (Belgium)
* BVMI (Germany)
* FHF (Iceland)
* FIMI (Italy)
* IFPI Danmark (Denmark)
* IFPI Greece (Greece)
* IFPI Sverige (Sweden)
* IRMA (Ireland)
* LaIPA (Latvia)
* MAHASZ (Hungary)
* Musiikkituottajat (Finland)
* Mü-Yap (Turkey)
* NVPI (Netherlands)
* Promusicae (Spain)
* SNEP (France)
* UPFI (France)
* UPFR (Romania)
* ZPAV (Poland)

Oceania|

* ARIA (Australia)
* RMNZ (New Zealand)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template