The BRIT Awards 2018 with Mastercard today reveals that it has already raised over £1 million from this year’s show to support the work of The BRIT Trust – the music industry charity set up by UK labels association the BPI, which donates to good causes involving young people, music and education.
This adds to the total of over £20 million that has to date been raised by The BRIT Awards and other music events for The BRIT Trust, whose main beneficiaries include The BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology (the first and leading FREE performing Arts School in the UK) and Nordoff-Robbins music therapy as well as other selected charities and institutions, such as Music Support, Key4Life and ELAM, that promote education and wellbeing through music and demonstrate the value of music.
BRITs Chairman Jason Iley said: “While millions tune into the biggest music showcase in the UK each year it’s often overlooked that The BRITs are also a major fundraising event for music charities - so our focus is not only on playing host to some of the most successful artists in the world, but also on raising money for causes close to our hearts. I’m very grateful to all of the artists, managers and my fellow committee members, who have selflessly given of their time and talent to raise a monumental sum yet again.”
The BRIT School was immensely proud to have three alumni nominated for a BRIT Award this year, and several students involved behind the scenes or as part of the live show. 2013 Theatre graduate Loyle Carner was nominated for two categories; British Breakthrough Artist and British Male Solo Artist. 2004 Music graduate Kate Tempest was nominated as British Female Solo Artist and 2015 Music graduate Raye was up for a nomination for British Single featuring on Jax Jones ‘You Don’t Know Me’.
Ten current Dance students performed with Dua Lipa, Ashton Miranda (Musical Theatre ’06) played keys for Ed Sheeran whilst Jordan Shaw, Jeffrey Okyere and Charnelle La Touche (all MT’10) sung in Ed’s choir, Desri Ramus (MT’05) is Rag’n’Bone Man’s lead backing vocalist, and Kleon Duncan West (MT’15) and Lawrence Rowe (Music ‘11) were part of the Choir for Justin Timberlake. Two Technical Theatre arts students, Casey Kum and Raefen Webber worked with PRG XL video on production, Chanelle Self (MT’13) was in charge of all the drapes and fabric at the event, Ashley Read ran ticketing and production runners and Molly Martindale was a Production runner.
Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards, said: “When fans tune into The BRITs, they are not only supporting great artists, they are also supporting great causes. It’s a source of great pride for the BPI and record labels that The BRITs has helped to raise more than £20 million to support a free creative education for talented young people at the BRIT School, and music therapy for people affected by serious disabilities. Music is a powerful force for good and the BPI and The BRITs are committed to using music to help improve people’s lives.”
John Craig OBE, Chairman, BRIT Trust said: “On behalf of the Trust and The BRIT School, I would like to thank the BPI and the music industry at large, including many musicians, for their generosity over the years. The money from the show that is donated to the School is critical. The School’s track record in educating and producing students, who go on to have careers with the creative industries, is extraordinary. However the investment necessary in acquiring and maintaining equipment is considerable and this is why the funds the School receives from the show are so important.”
The BRIT Awards this year additionally embarked on a renewed partnership with environmental charity Julie’s Bicycle, which was founded over a decade ago from within the UK music industry to support action on climate change across the creative industries.
Through the partnership, The BRITs is progressively increasing the ambition and scope of the event’s green practices with support from contractors and partners. Using its platform at the heart of the UK music industry to spread good practice and inspire artists and music businesses to take action, the BRITs are strengthening the voices of this year’s at least 19 nominees who have previously spoken out on the issue.
The BRIT Awards 2018 also saw another successful partnership with Life Water. Since partnering with Life Water in 2013, the Awards show has funded five clean drinking water projects across Africa and India, giving over 4,500 people a reliable source of clean water in their community.
