Profit cut at Mercury Prize and Official Charts owner despite BRIT Awards success

The organisation behind the Mercury Prize and that co-owns the Official Charts Company saw its profit cut during 2023 despite the financial success of the BRIT Awards.

British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which is the British recorded music industry’s Trade association, has reported a turnover of £18.4m for 2023, down from £19.3m.

According to newly-filed accounts with Companies House, the BPI’s pre-tax profit also fell from £168,071 to £53,778.

The BPI organises the BRIT Awards and the Mercury Prize and co-owns the Official Charts Company with the Entertainment Retailers Association.

The organisation generated £4.1m through subscriptions, registration fees, contributions and management fees in the year, down from £6.1m.

However, it received £14.3m through awards ceremonies, licensing and licensed products in 2023, up from £13.1m.

For 2023, the company behind the BRIT Awards generated a turnover of £13.3m, up from £11.7m.

Its pre-tax profit also increased from £8m to £14.9m, according to results filed with Companies House.

BRIT Awards boosted by partnerships and ticket sales

In a statement signed off by the board, BPI said: “Turnover for the group was down in the year, however there was increased income from the annual BRIT Awards due to a combination of partnership renewals and increased ticket revenue from a return to pre-Covid seat inventory arrangement.

“This allowed the group to donate significantly more to the British Record Industry Trust in the year.

“Costs in relation to The Mercury Prize annual event returned to normal after an increase in 2022 from the show being cancelled on the day and rescheduled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.”

The results come after it was revealed that an increasing number of British fans have to travel across the UK to see high-profile music acts.

Research by UK Music says 18.2m people travelled from UK towns and cities in 2023 to see shows such as Beyonce’s first tour in seven years, Harry Styles’ world tour and Britpop group Blur headlining their first UK show since 2015 at Wembley Stadium in London.

This is an increase of 36 per cent on 2022 , when 13.3m people were travelling the UK to see their favourite singers and bands.

Big festivals such as Glastonbury in Somerset, Boomtown in Hampshire and TRNSMT in Glasgow also contributed to the figures, UK Music said.

However, foreign music tourism suffered a slight drop in 2023 as it went from 1.053m people to 1.014m people.

Total music tourism spent in 2023 was £8bn, which is an increase of 21 per cent on 2022 when the figure was £6.6bn

However, the industry has warned that smaller acts have not been reaping the rewards of this success.