The Brit awards, the glitziest event in the UK music industry calendar, are no stranger to criticism. Tedious, embarrassing and irrelevant are just some of the less generous adjectives that have been flung at the event. And the slur that hit hardest was the accusation that the Brits are an outdated relic. But its organisers are determined to put this slur to rest with a raft of changes to next year's event that amount to the biggest shakeup in Brits history.
The changes – including a new venue, a new award designed by Vivienne Westwood, a greater focus on the album of the year, the scrapping of the outstanding contribution to music award and changes to the voting academy – will "transform" the awards, David Joseph, the CEO of Universal Music UK and the new Brits chairman, told the Guardian.
"I want to see more music, I desperately want more gravitas – I want it to be fundamentally about music," he said. "It has been great ... but I'm trying not to look too much at the past."
The Brits celebrated its 30th anniversary last year – with performances from Lady Gaga, who picked up three awards, and Florence and the Machine, who took home album of the year for Lungs – but critics were quick to point out that the format looked tired.
To inject more excitement and "jeopardy", more focus will be given to the final award of the night – for album of the year, Joseph added. Short films about nominated albums will be shown throughout the evening and the Outstanding Contribution to Music – won by Robbie Williams last year – will be "rested".
"I 100% wanted to change the predictability of [the awards]," he said. "I might get fatwa-ed by Mojo magazine but I really stand by it, we don't celebrate new talent in this country enough. We can't have the same recipe for the next 10 years, we need to modernise. I fundamentally believe that people want to watch the best in the world, the best of British entertainment."
The voting academy – a group of 1,000 industry experts, including critics, executives and publishers – is also getting an overhaul and will include artists for the first time, with last year's winners and nominees invited to vote. Joseph believes this will be reflected in the artists nominated. "There are certain artists' artists, people they respect. It will have a more left-of-centre influence."
The changes appear to give more than a nod to the Mercury music prize – which picks the album of the year on critical merit, unlike the Brits which must consider sales and success. Whisper it, but is Joseph trying to inject credibility into proceedings? "That's for you to say, really," he said, without hesitation.
This year it was announced that the venue was moving from Earls Court, where the show has been held for the past 11 years, to the O2 Arena – a switch that will make a huge difference, said Joseph.
As he enthusiastically assembles a model of the new stage in his office, he says he hopes that by introducing two stages joined by a walkway, the audience will have little choice but to engage with the performances instead of quaffing champagne and talking loudly – as has sometimes been the case. "I haven't enjoyed the cameras pointing at that slightly more raucous element," he says, carefully. "I don't think helped. It was two hours on telly that did reinforce some stereotypes."
The Britannia trophy also gets a new look. Vivienne Westwood has created the new award – and other major British designers will follow suit as the statuette is reinvented each year. The Brits logo has also changed.
Finally, but perhaps most significantly – the awards have a digital sponsor for the first time: iTunes, which will sponsor the single of the year award along with Capital radio.
Is Joseph nervous about how the changes will be received? "Yes – but it's good to be nervous," he said. "I really, really want it to be a success. I want to be like Apollo 13 or Neil Armstrong – it's going to be a disaster or fantastic."
Statuette to be a 'blank canvas'
The classic Britannia statuette that has been seen in the hand of many big-name artists over the past three decades will be replaced by a "blank canvas" trophy created by award-winning Manchester design collective, Music.
The basic statuette will be redesigned each year by leading British creative individuals, making the trophy unique to each year.
Its inaugural makeover comes from Westwood who, as the former partner of the Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and honorary queen of the original punk movement, appears to be a fitting choice.
Joseph was delighted with the results – a figurine draped in a vintage-style union flag. "I wanted something that when the artist got it they thought it was better than any award they had ever seen. That is exactly what we got," he said.
The classic Britannia statuette that has been seen in the hand of many big-name artists over the past three decades will be replaced by a "blank canvas" trophy created by award-winning Manchester design collective, Music.
The basic statuette will be redesigned each year by leading British creative individuals, making the trophy unique to each year.
Its inaugural makeover comes from Vivienne Westwood who, as the former partner of the Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and honorary queen of the original punk movement, appears to be a fitting choice.
New Brits chairman David Joseph was delighted with the results – a figurine draped in a vintage-style Union flag. "I wanted something that when the artist got it they thought it was better than any award they had ever seen. That is exactly what we got," he said.
Comments in chronological order (Total 2 comments)
8 November 2010 10:14AM
"Tedious, embarrassing and irrelevant"
Still will be come next year. What's new, eh?
9 November 2010 12:02AM
Good to see artists included in voting academy - and efforts to shake up the Brits in general......The Brits are an institution whether you have liked them or not........ It can only be an improvement on previous years surely?