UK music certification relaunched as The BRIT Certified Platinum, Gold & Silver Awards unveiled

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) have announced new changes to UK music certification.

After 45 years in their former guise, The BRIT Certified Platinum, Gold & Silver Awards have been unveiled, a new identity in association with the BRIT Awards. Certified Awards are given out to popular singles and albums based on sales and streaming volumes tracked by the Official Charts Company.

Still administered by the BPI – the UK record labels association which owns and organises The BRIT Awards – the certifications will now become part of The BRITs family. This will enable the awards to reach a larger audience while keeping the BRITs engaged with music fans all year round.

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards, said: “The BPI’s Platinum, Gold and Silver Awards are woven into the narrative of British music and are the official mark of a record’s popularity. On social media fans love to celebrate their favourite artists reaching a big new milestone. 

"Given that The BRITs are the UK’s biggest platform for artistic achievement, with millions of fans at home and around the world, it makes sense for the BPI to bring the official sales awards under the BRITs banner.”

In addition to the Platinum, Gold and Silver certifications, a new BRIT Certified Breakthrough Award will also be introduced, given to acts whose debut album has passed combined sales of 30,000.

The first new BRIT Certified Award recipients include Stormzy, MNEK, George Ezra, Camila Cabello and The Weeknd, with future announcements to be made over at the BRIT Awards Twitter account @BRITs.

The Carpenters’ Yesterday Once More and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John were among the first singles and albums awarded when certification was devised in 1973, while recently, Amy Winehouse passed 3.9 million combined album sales to be named 13x Platinum.