Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music

The Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music is the Lifetime Achievement award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI),^[1][2] an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom.^[3] The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music.^[4] The honourees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.^[5]

Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music
Awarded for	Achievement in excellence in music
Country	United Kingdom (UK)
Presented by	British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
First award	1977
Currently held by	Kylie Minogue (2024)
Most awards	Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Elton John (3)
Website	www.brits.co.uk

History

The award was first presented in 1977 and was subsequently awarded annually from 1982 to 2010. The award has since been presented intermittently as the BRIT's Icon Award, with the original name being re-instated at the 2019 Brit Awards ceremony.^[6] Since 2000, the Classic BRIT Awards have also annually presented their own Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.^[7] The award was last presented under its original name at 2019 Brit Awards.^[8] However, the Global Icon Award, which was described as the BRIT's "highest accolade", and an international version of the BRIT's Icon Award, was presented in 2021 to Taylor Swift.^[9]

Elton John, Paul McCartney and John Lennon are the artists with the most wins with three awards. U2 were the first international band to receive the BRIT award while Pink and Bob Geldof were the first female solo artist and the first international artist to receive it respectively. Cecilia Bartoli and Andrea Bocelli were the first female soloist and international artist respectively to receive the Classic BRIT Award. Freddie Mercury's last public appearance before his death from HIV/AIDS would be when he accepted the award in 1990 as a member of Queen.^[10]

Contemporary winners

Paul McCartney received the award in 1977 and 1983 as part of The Beatles and in 2008 as a solo artist

1986, 1995 and 2014 honouree Elton John

1998 winners Fleetwood Mac

2024 winner Kylie Minogue

Year	Recipient(s)
1977	LG Wood and The Beatles
1982	John Lennon
1983	The Beatles
1984	George Martin[11]
1985	The Police[12]
1986	Elton John and Wham![13]
1987	Eric Clapton[14]
1988	The Who[15]
1989	Cliff Richard (Lifetime Achievement Award)[16]
1990	Queen[17]
1991	Status Quo[18]
1992	Freddie Mercury (posthumously)[19]
1993	Rod Stewart[20]
1994	Van Morrison[21]
1995	Elton John[22]
1996	David Bowie[23]
1997	Bee Gees[24]
1998	Fleetwood Mac[25]
1999	Eurythmics[26]
2000	Spice Girls[27]
2001	U2[28]
2002	Sting[29]
2003	Tom Jones[30]
2004	Duran Duran[31]
2005	Bob Geldof[32]
2006	Paul Weller[33]
2007	Oasis[34]
2008	Paul McCartney[35]
2009	Pet Shop Boys[36]
2010	Robbie Williams[37]
2012	Blur[38]
2014	Elton John (Icon Award)[39]
2016	David Bowie (Icon Award)[40]
2017	Robbie Williams (Icon Award)[41]
2019	Pink[8]
2021	Taylor Swift (Global Icon Award)[9]
2024	Kylie Minogue (Global Icon Award)[42]

Classic winners

Inaugural winner Nigel Kennedy

Composer John Williams received the award in 2012

Year	Recipient
2000	Nigel Kennedy
2001	Simon Rattle
2002	Andrea Bocelli
2003	Cecilia Bartoli
2004	Renée Fleming
2005	James Galway
2006	Placido Domingo
2007	Vernon Handley
2008	Andrew Lloyd Webber
2009	José Carreras
2010	Kiri Te Kanawa
2011	John Barry (posthumously)
2012	John Williams
2013	Hans Zimmer
2014	Luciano Pavarotti (posthumously)
2018	Vera Lynn

Artists with multiple wins

• John Lennon has received the award three times (1977 and 1983 as a member of The Beatles and 1982 as a solo artist)
• Paul McCartney has received the award three times (1977 and 1983 as a member of The Beatles and 2008 as a solo artist)
• Elton John has received the award three times (1986 and 1995 for Outstanding Contribution and 2014 as a BRIT's Icon)
• The Beatles have received the award twice (1977 and 1983)
• Sting has received the award twice (1985 as a member of The Police and 2002 as a solo artist)
• Freddie Mercury has received the award twice (1990 as a member of Queen and 1992 as a solo artist)
• David Bowie has received the award twice (1996 for Outstanding Contribution and 2016 as a BRIT's Icon)
• Robbie Williams has received the award twice (2010 for Outstanding Contribution and 2017 as a BRIT's Icon)