BRIT Awards 2016 nominations: Organisers acknowledge lack of diversity and promise changes

The ceremony came under fire after only two non-white acts received nominations this year
Changes: Skepta failed to receive a nomination
Samir Hussein/Getty
Emma Powell24 February 2016
The Weekender

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BRIT Awards organisers have acknowledged that the annual event needs to be more diverse.

The event came under fire after only two non-white acts received nominations for this year’s ceremony which kick started the #Britssowhite hashtag.

Organisers have now said the ceremony needs to move with the “changing landscape of music consumption” after Big Narstie criticised the awards during a Channel 4 news segment on Tuesday night.

“The only diversity in the Brits is with the Americans,” he said. “I’ve been saying this for a while, for our country to do good, we need to embrace our country.”

In a statement released to the Daily Mirror following Narstie’s comments, BRIT organisers said: "There are no individual awards for specific genres however, and since only a small number of BRITs are awarded every year, the artists who are honoured tend to be those who have achieved the very highest levels of chart success.

"Given the rapidly changing landscape of music consumption, it may now be time to take a fresh look at the metrics around the BRIT Awards to ensure they reflect the full range of engagement with recorded music.”

BRIT Awards 2016 nominations party

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The statement also announced the possibility of adding a grime category to honour those outside of the “mainstream”.

"The BRITs organisers are, therefore, and with the guidance of a new advisory committee comprising respected members of the BAME music community, exploring a number of initiatives that will enable the event to more effectively acknowledge diverse, breaking and established talent in future, including exciting genres, such as Grime, which aren’t always considered mainstream but are growing in popularity," the statement read.

Several musicians have hit out at the awards including Laura Mvula who revealed she will not attend this year’s event because of the “diversity issue”, while Lily Allen reportedly accused organisers of being “blind to black talent”.

Stormzy also acknowledged the lack of diversity, telling NME: “It was such a great year for grime and underground music. I thought maybe this year it might get celebrated. You know when you’ve got that little bit of hope and that little bit of faith and then they didn’t. It’s just a matter of breaking the doors down and carrying on.”

The Brit Awards will take place at the O2 Arena tonight and will be broadcast live on ITV at 8pm.

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