BRITs 2022 Chair Tom March visits The BRIT School following success of innovative digital partnerships for this year’s show
BRITs 2022 Chair Tom March visits The BRIT School following success of innovative digital partnerships for this year’s show
Photo credit: Henri Calderon
Monday 28th March - The Chair of the 2022 BRIT Awards with Mastercard, co-President of Polydor Records Tom March, last week visited The BRIT School in South London to meet with students, following the success of this year’s show in February, which saw a range of innovative and creative digital partnerships launched to further drive engagement with a younger and global audience.
Alongside a tour of the school and watching rehearsals for upcoming plays by students, March gave a 45min masterclass to over 100 music and creative arts students about his own career history after joining the music industry straight from school up to his present day plans to take a post in the U.S. to head up Geffen Records. The BRIT School is the UK’s first and leading free performing and creative arts school for 1,400 young people aged 14 to 19, and relies on the long-term support of The BRIT Trust, The BRIT Awards and of the wider music community.
Under March’s stewardship – supported by the co-Chairs of the BRITs Digital Committee Luke Ferrar (Polydor) and Giuseppe de Cristofano (BPI) and the BRITs Committee – brand new and progressive ground was broken during this year’s BRITs campaign. This notably included the introduction of the Artist of the Year category and four new genre categories powered by TikTok; recognising all featured artists as nominees for the first time to include even more artists within the shortlists; and the Nominations Show move to a Saturday night primetime TV slot before Christmas.
Furthermore a number of innovative partnerships were launched to expand the world of BRITs and its digital reach. This year saw the launch of the first ever BRITs NFTs1, an exclusive collaboration with eco-friendly platform Serenade, with NFTs created for the winners of categories including Artist of the Year and Mastercard Album of the Year, and proceeds contributing to funds raised by The BRIT Awards for music charity The BRIT Trust and the charities it supports, including The BRIT School. Additionally, the first ever awards show VIP Party launched on Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), a global platform bringing millions of people together through shared experiences, with virtual artist meet and greets happening throughout the week post-BRITs, culminating in an exclusive virtual concert experience with PinkPantheress in avatar form.
As Official Digital Music Partner, YouTube Shorts launched #BRITsUnseen, YouTube’s campaign which took fans on a journey to the BRITs through exclusive content with 2022 nominees, to collaborations with some of YouTube’s biggest creators, and a bespoke YouTube Shorts red carpet moment on the night. YouTube also hosted the livestream of the BRITs for non-UK viewers for the ninth year.
Tom commented: “Visiting The BRIT School was an inspiring opportunity to witness first-hand the enormous creative potential of the next generation of talent and to bring home the vital importance of the charity element of The BRIT Awards in supporting the school and its work, and I am excited to see what the future holds for the school’s brilliant students in years to come. It was a fantastic way for me to close the book on my chairmanship of The BRIT Awards, which I have loved from start to finish.”
Notes to Editors
1 An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a unique digital asset with an individual identity that can be purchased for collection, trading or public display. NFTs cannot be faked or copied, giving each NFT intrinsic value for its owner.
About The BRIT School
The BRIT School is the UK’s first and leading free performing and creative arts school for 1,400 young people aged 14 to 19. The School – an exempt charity based in Croydon – invests in the future of the UK’s cultural wealth by nurturing young artistic talent from all backgrounds and teaching the skills needed by the rapidly growing creative industries. We believe that young people of all backgrounds should be able to develop their creative talent and craft and make a powerful contribution to society.
About The BRIT Trust | www.brittrust.co.uk
Established by the music industry in 1989, The BRIT Trust sees its mission as improving lives through the power of music and the creative arts; helping people to realise their full potential and life chances, whatever their abilities, ethnicity, gender and sexuality.
The Trust has to date donated around £27 million to a range of progressive causes, including The BRIT School, the UK’s leading performing and creative arts school that is free to attend, and Nordoff Robbins, the UK’s largest music therapy provider, as its main beneficiaries since 1989. Other charities supported include Mind, to promote good mental health in schools, the music industry and the workplace; Music Support, the addictions and mental health charity; East London Arts & Music (ELAM), the free school sixth form; and Key4Life, which seeks to help young men in prison, or who are at risk of ending up there, away from a life of crime by drawing on their passion for music.