BRIT Awards commentary - Youth Music CEO, Matt Griffiths

24 January 2024 - Press release

Following the announcement of the BRIT Award nominees, Youth Music CEO, Matt Griffiths, has commented on the positive strides that have been made towards inclusivity following last year’s controversy.

Youth Music is the UK’s leading young people’s music charity and works to support young people from all backgrounds to make, earn and learn within the music industry.

“It’s great to see that the BRIT Awards are committed to making the show more inclusive, responding proactively to last year’s feedback by taking concerted actions for 2024.  

The 60 / 40 gender split for the nominees in the Artist of the Year category is the standout development following last year’s controversy. Doubling the number of nominations for Artist of the Year, International Artist of the Year and introduction of R&B as its own genre award are also positive steps forward, together with greater transparency in setting out the makeup and demographics of the Voting Academy.

It’s important now that this positive momentum is built on as there’s more to be done to ensure a creative, diverse, and inclusive music industry. For young people, it’s imperative they see people like them represented in the nominations, awards and wider music industry from a wide range of backgrounds in terms of gender, ethnicity, disability, and socioeconomic background. It’s about young people having role models representing them and their lives both on and off stage.

It’s also great for creativity too. Greater diversity produces greater music. Artists from a range of backgrounds create songs and lyrics often expressing their own lived experiences, challenges and observations on society. This provides us with rich, thoughtful music from a multitude of voices, platforming the diversity and creativity of the UK.

And it all starts at the grassroots, supporting young people at the earliest age to make, learn and then earn in music. This is the national ecosystem Youth Music invests in and we ask the music industries to do the same with us. This in turn will create the very pipeline of creative talent that’s being called for.”