UK record labels association, the BPI, today announces a long-term collaboration with Bowers & Wilkins which will see the renowned premium audio brand support several key music industry events designed to celebrate the love of music, the album format and the importance of a higher-quality listening experience for music fans.
The relationship, which will run for an initial three years, will commence with the Hyundai Mercury Prize, organised annually by the BPI and which this year sees the winner of the 12 shortlisted albums revealed on 24th September. It will find further expression through National Album Day (which the BPI co-founded with ERA) on 10th October and also The Record Club, which currently takes place fortnightly online.
The collaboration will see Bowers & Wilkins work with the BPI to support British music across a broad range of complementary initiatives, from promoting the creativity and innovation of the artists selected for the Hyundai Mercury Prize to celebrating the album format and the vital role of independent record stores within the industry.
Founded in Worthing on England’s south coast in 1966, Bowers & Wilkins has been transforming customer expectations in home, automotive and personal audio for decades. Throughout that time, music has been at the heart of everything it does. In addition to being highly regarded by music
fans the world over, the brand’s market-leading loudspeakers are also used in many of the world’s most famous recording studios.
Dave Sheen, executive vice-president of Product, Brand and Strategic Partnerships, said: “Bowers & Wilkins have been delivering category-defining sound for over 50 years and, throughout that time, music has always been at the heart of everything we do. Everyone at Bowers & Wilkins is a passionate music lover, and it’s that passion that drives us to create the finest audio products possible. We want everyone to experience music the way it should be – as the artist intended.”
Geoff Taylor, chief executive, BPI, BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize, said: “As the BPI continues to build its role promoting British music at home and abroad, we are delighted to welcome Bowers & Wilkins to our family of events as a valued supporter of the recorded music community. The Hyundai Mercury Prize, National Album Day and The Record Club all celebrate the album as the ultimate expression of an artist’s creativity, while Bowers & Wilkins enables them to tell their stories in the highest possible audio quality. We look forward to working together to bring those experiences to more music fans.”
ENDS
Enquiries
For BPI
Gennaro Castaldo gennaro.castaldo@bpi.co.uk +44 (0)20 7803 1326 / +44 (0)7801 194 139
Toby Leveson toby.leveson@bpi.co.uk +44 (0)20 7803 1390 / +44 (0)7917 150 176
For Bowers & Wilkins
Andy Kerr andy.kerr@bowerswilkins.com +44 (0)7590 735140
Notes for editors:
The Record Club
The Record Club was launched by National Album Day, Record Store Day UK and Official Charts as a fortnightly online live series with the aim of bringing together artists, music fans and the retail community to celebrate album releases during lockdown and support the UK’s record shops.
Hosted to date on Facebook every other Wednesday at 6.30pm by Jess Iszatt (BBC Music Introducing/ BBC Radio London) and live streamed simultaneously across the Record Store Day UK, Official Charts and National Album Day Facebook feeds, the series taps into a 3.2 million-strong
combined digital audience that is encouraged to order each Record Club album from a record shop ahead of the broadcast, listen to the album in full, and come to the interview with questions of their own in a bid to support the record store community throughout the coronavirus lockdown. Artists featured to date include Rina Sawayama, Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson, and Laura Marling.
About Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins, founded in the UK in 1966, has been at the forefront of high-performance audio for more than 50 years. Bowers & Wilkins designs and manufactures precision home speakers, headphones, custom installation and performance car audio products that set new standards for innovation and sound quality, earning countless awards and accolades from the world’s leading recording studios and musicians. Bowers & Wilkins’ reputation is based on the unwavering pursuit of the best possible sound and an unsurpassable music listening experience.
Learn more at www.bowerswilkins.com
About the BPI (British Phonographic Industry)
The BPI champions the UK’s recorded music industry, safeguarding the rights of its members and of the artists, performers and label members of collecting body PPL. The BPI’s membership consists of well over 450 independent labels and the UK’s three ‘majors’, which together account for 85 per cent of legitimate domestic music consumption and one in nine albums sold around the world. The BPI promotes British music overseas through its trade missions and the Music Exports Growth Scheme. It provides insights, training and networking with its free masterclasses, Innovation Hub,
Insight Sessions, WidsomWednesdays events, and reports. The BPI administers The BRIT Certified Awards, co-owns The Official Charts, organises The BRIT Awards and BRITs Week, and is also home to The Hyundai Mercury Prize.
For more details, go to www.bpi.co.uk
MEDIA RELEASE issued by BPI. You too can share your stories (aka press or media releases), on this site. Email here for more information.
Check out twitter.com/scotsbulletin for your very own media releases feed…
Check out too twitter.com/allMusicPR.
Stay connected with our various twitter feeds: Charities, Drink, Education, Energy, Fashion, Film, Food, Gardens, Legal, Motors, Music, Outdoors, Property, Science and Sports. And not forgetting Finance, Theatre, Travel, Festivals, Visual Arts, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling.
BPI contact details…
Contact: BPI
Email: gennaro.castaldo@bpi.co.uk
