Brits Billion Award
The Brit Billion Award is a special award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) to artist who have achieved over one billion digital streams in the United Kingdom. An extension of the BPI's music certification system, the number of streams is verified using data calculated by the Official Charts Company and is the first time in the fifty-year history of the system that an artist's combined success over multiple projects has been recognized as a collective total. The one billion career streams include tracks where the artist is the primary performer, as well as tracks where they appear as a featured artist. The award was created in 2023 and was first presented to on 4 May 2023 to thirteen artists, with additional performers receiving the award as they reached the one billion milestone. To date, there have been twenty five recipients of the Brits Billion Award. The most recent are The Rolling Stones, who were presented with the award on 30 October 2023, and are the longest-active artists to receive the honour. At 20 years old when awarded, Olivia Rodrigo is the youngest recipient. Creation The award was created to reflect the growing importance of streaming in the UK. In a statement announcing the initial recipients, Sophie Jones, Chief Executive of the BPI, explained: "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." The trophy itself is manufactured by Gaudio Awards in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Recipients References Brit Awards Awards established in 2023