Global music icons The Rolling Stones have been announced as the latest recipient of a BRIT Billion Award by the BPI, the representative voice for the UK’s world leading record labels and music companies.
The BRIT Billion Award celebrates The Rolling Stones’ incredible career, spanning seven decades. Last week, they celebrated their 14th UK Number 1 album with Hackney Diamonds, their first album of new material in 18 years.
In reaching the landmark of one billion career UK streams, as calculated by the Official Charts Company, the British band became the longest-active artist to receive the prestigious Award, with their most-streamed hits including Paint It, Black, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, and Start Me Up.
Now with 14 UK Number 1 albums and eight UK Number 1 singles, The Rolling Stones have undisputedly been one of the defining voices of British music for over 60 years. Hackney Diamonds marks their first album of original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang, and features an incredible range of guest artists including Elton John, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and Bill Wyman.
The Rolling Stones are the 25th artist to receive a BRIT Billion Award, which was officially launched in May 2023. They follow in the footsteps of fellow icons ABBA, Coldplay, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Queen, as well as pioneering rap and Hip-Hop artists AJ Tracey and Headie One, chart-dominating Pop artists such as Ellie Goulding, Lewis Capaldi and RAYE, and the next generation of megastars including Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish. Ed Sheeran recently became the first artist to receive a special Gold edition of the Award for reaching a landmark of 10 billion UK streams.
Dr. Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive, said:
“Few artists have crossed generational divides in quite the way the Rolling Stones have. Their iconic songs and albums are era-defining, but the band remain as contemporary as ever. The BPI is thrilled to honour them with a BRIT Billion Award, which underscores both the timeless appeal of their music and the extent to which they are now also connecting with a new wave of fans thanks to streaming.”
The BRIT Billion award reflects the extent to which streaming has transformed the music landscape for artists and fans alike over the past decade – more than 85% of the UK’s recorded music consumption now takes place through streaming. Artist success in streaming is now typically measured in the tens and hundreds of millions each year in the UK alone – and increasingly in the billions also for the most successful. In 2022 there were a record 160 billion audio streams in the UK in total.
