The Academy

The Academy is made up of 1000 specially invited members from different sectors of the music industry. Major and independent record companies, retailers, music critics and student press, music TV and Radio producers and presenters, music publishers, artist managers, concert promoters and venues, NUS representatives and DJs.

Less than a quarter of the academy’s membership is drawn from the recording industry, and despite the popular misconception that “BRIT Bosses” dish out the awards, only 12% of the voting academy are drawn from major record companies.

All academy votes are collected online, and are counted and verified by official scrutinisers ERS (Electoral Reform Services).

We polled a bunch of members of The Academy from diverse backgrounds and asked them what their favourite BRITs moments were. Overwhelmingly, we discovered that they’re a bunch of peeping Toms as the majority of top show highlight involved a cameo of Jarvis Cocker’s bum during a Michael Jackson moment:

“Jarvis’ bottom putting Michael Jackson in his place.” A legal & business affairs consultant

“Jarvis Cocker and Michael Jackson’s unexpected duet – it was beautiful.” An international marketing manager

“Jarvis vs Jacko. Rock N Roll history right there.” a newspaper music editor

It’s not all about perving on bespectacled rockers however. There unifying factor among the hundreds of Academy members is that they’re all serious about music. That’s not to say they all share the same tastes. Our polls showed that they have a penchant for pop, with hotly-tipped BRITs potential awardees like Rihanna, Newton Faulkner, Mika and the Kaiser Chiefs showing up again and again as their top tips. But among pop faves , we found some more eclectic musical interests among Academy Members. Dame Shirley Bassey, Groove Armada, grunge kids Sonic Youth, eclectic cellists Basquiat Strings and even bloke called Seasick Steve.

Academy members are reflective of the diverse tastes and opinions of the British public. And just like the rest of us, they’ve got their fair share of quirk. For example, this top BRITs memory of an Academy member who was lucky enough to attend the show:

“My favourite moment was sitting on Kylie Minogue’s chair while she was presenting an award. It was still warm.”