Brits 2024: Rules change to allow more nominees

The categories are changing to become more inclusive, the organisers said after no women were nominated for the best artist award in 2023

The Brits are arguably the most important music awards in the UK, but organisers have faced their fair share of criticism in recent years.

Earlier this year, in order to better represent all music acts, the awards scrapped their "best male" and "best female" categories and replaced it with one "best artist" award.

But there was a lot of backlash as no female acts were nominated.

Harry Styles went on to win the award but dedicated his win to Rina Sawayama, Charli XCX, Florence and the Machine, Mabel and Becky Hill.

So for the 2024 awards, there will be an extended shortlist in order to include a wider range of artists.

Instead of five nominees, there will be 10.

Singer Mahalia protested against the lack of R&B nominees in the combined pop/R&B category on the Brits' red carpet in February

Another big change is there will be a new award for the best R&B act after many artists felt the genre was not celebrated enough.

Previously R&B acts were included in the "best pop/R&B" category but more mainstream artists like Dua Lipa and Harry Styles dominated.

Organisers have said R&B acts who have had success in the past 24 months, instead of the usual 12, will be eligible for nomination so that artists who might have missed out in 2023 can be recognised.

British artist Rachel Jones has designed the latest award statue as seen on the far left

There will also be 10 nominations in the "international artist of the year" category to better reflect the wide range of talent.

Nominees for that award could include Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Jack Harlow.

Dr Jo Twist, CEO of awards organisers the BPI, said, "Obviously we were disappointed that no women were nominated for artist of the year in 2023.

"So we reached out to people in the industry and expert groups to understand how we can improve this for this year, to make the Brits inclusive and reflective."

She added that "this year is looking very positive" for female artists and R&B acts, with the likes of Raye, Mahalia and PinkPantheress all eligible in multiple categories.

What do you think of the changes to the awards? Do you think your favourite artists will have more chance of winning now?