Brit Billion Award winners 2023 revealed celebrating one billion UK streams

Virgin Radio

4 May 2023, 15:29

The Brit Awards might be done and dusted for another year, but an exciting new category has made it onto the music horizon: The Brit Billion award.

Calculated by the Official Charts Company, the new category gives a prestigious nod to "those who have surpassed the huge milestone of one billion UK streams in their career, both as solo and featured artists".

The BPI — the music industry's Trade association — announced the first 13 recipients which include Lewis Capaldi, Rita Ora, Sam Smith, ABBA, Anne-Marie, Coldplay, Whitney Houston, rap pioneer Headie One and Mariah Carey. Other recipients include Ellie Goulding, George Ezra, AJ Tracey and Raye.

Capaldi shared the good news on social media and wrote: "A billion streams in the UK, which is wild."

He joked: "It's mad to have a stream for each time I've slept with one of your mothers."

He added: "Am so buzzing to be one of the first artists ever to be given a BRIT Billion award! Never in a million years did I think any of this stuff would happen but now it is I will gladly accept each and every award, you have my address."

US superstar Carey said about the achievement: "I'm really honoured to be one of the recipients of the BRIT Billion Award. I'm so grateful to my fans for their endless and enduring support. I love you UK Lambily and cannot wait to come back to your side of the pond and create more magical moments together."

These huge music honours highlight the impact of streaming - which makes up 85 percent of the UK's music consumption and clocked up a record 160 billion audio streams in the UK in 2022.

Rapper, singer-songwriter and producer AJ Tracey said: “It’s a real honour to have been given one of the first ever BRIT Billion awards. I do this all for you guys, so thank you for listening. New album on the way. Stay locked!”

Independent artist RAYE who achieved her first No.1 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart this January with Escapism, said: “Thank you so much to the BPI for this award. One billion streams is a very overwhelming number to truly wrap my head around, I’m very grateful to everyone and anyone who is included in that number, thank you.”

Sophie Jones, BPI Chief Strategy Officer and Interim Chief Executive, said: “For a recording artist, there can be few greater sources of pride than having a Platinum or Gold disc on their wall, but in an era when success in measured in the hundreds of millions and indeed billions of streams, it was clear that we needed a new and additional way to recognise and celebrate outstanding achievement in recorded music, and I feel certain that having a BRIT Billion Award will become equally prized.” 

“As a musician, nothing gives you a greater thrill than knowing that people are enjoying and connecting with your work," said YolanDa Brown DL OBE, musician and Chair of the BPI.

"Being streamed in the billions represents a pinnacle of success – underlining the treasured bond that exists between artist and fan – and I congratulate all the inaugural recipient artists and their record labels on being honoured with a BRIT Billion award. I look forward to seeing many more artists achieve this incredible feat in the future.”

Toby Leveson, Senior Digital Content Manager, BPI, said: “The certifications scheme has always been a great measure of cultural cut-through, and we’re taking this to the next level with BRIT Billion, as the UK becomes the first country in the world to celebrate streaming success across an artist's entire catalogue.

"The variety of artists receiving the very first BRIT Billion Awards is a testament to the taste of the British public, from artists with timeless iconic tracks including ABBA, Mariah Carey, and Coldplay, to massive stars of recent years such as RAYE, Anne-Marie, and AJ Tracey.”

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