This year it was the 30th anniversary of the BRIT Awards and the staging was as spectacular as ever. As in the past few years it was screened live from Earls Court and was watched this year by a TV audience averaging 5.8m viewers, with a peak of 6.3m. Performers on the night included Lily Allen, JLS, Kasabian, Cheryl Cole, Jay-Z/Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga, whose win in every category in which she was nominated made several of the front pages the next day, crowning a superb 2009 for her.
Sales Impact
As always, there was a noticeable uplift in sales and profile for those artists taking part - in the week after the show, albums by winners and performers comprised eight of the Top 20. The show itself took place during week seven but, as TV promotion and retail campaigns had started in earnest the previous week, the sales impact was measured from week six. Taking average sales from weeks two to five and comparing them to average sales from six to eight indicates that over 260,000 additional sales (from titles by winners and performers, along with the BRIT Awards 2010 compilation) were generated by the show across those three weeks. Lady Gaga made the single largest artist contribution to this total - average sales of The Fame increased by 87%, adding more than 62,000 sales over three weeks.
The impact on single track download sales was immediately apparent, and history was made with Florence and Dizzee Rascal’s You Got The Dirtee Love duet being made available to download just hours after the show, the first ever BRITs performance to be sold in this manner. It charted as a new entry the following week at number 2, and other tracks also received an uplift in the week of the show, including:
o Kasabian – Fire – up by 222%
o Lily Allen – The Fear - 105%
o Jay-Z – Empire State Of Mind – 62%
Sales of tracks performed on the night cumulatively rose by over 100%, resulting in over 100,000 extra sales in week seven, and 10 of the tracks performed on the night (including individual songs from medleys/collaborations) charted in the Top 100.
Outstanding Contribution
Robbie Williams received the prestigious Outstanding Contribution award and his medley of solo material at the close of the show featured hits such as Let Me Entertain You, No Regrets and Angels. The impact on sales of his most recent album Reality Killed The Video Star was immediate, moving up to number eight the following week. The rest of his extensive catalogue also received a significant collective uplift, including his Greatest Hits collection which recharted in the Top 40.
The BRITs has provided many memorable moments and signalled the arrival of some major talents across its 30 shows. Head over to the official website www.brits.co.uk for performances from both this and previous years’ ceremonies.