Short answers, pulled from the story.
The BPI, formally known as BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, is the trade association for the British recorded music industry. It runs the BRIT Awards, is home to the Mercury Prize, co-owns the Official Charts Company with the Entertainment Retailers Association, and administers the BRIT Certified Awards scheme for UK music sales.
The BPI was formally incorporated in 1973. Its principal aims from the start were to promote British music and to fight copyright infringement.
The BRIT Trust has distributed almost £30 million to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation in 1989. Beneficiaries as of 2024 include The BRIT School, Nordoff and Robbins, East London Arts and Music, Music Support, and Key 4 Life.
For albums, Gold certification requires 100,000 sales and Platinum requires 300,000. For singles, Gold requires 400,000 and Platinum requires 600,000. Since July 2013, certifications have been automatically allocated based on Official Charts Company data, and streaming has been included in calculations since July 2014 for singles and June 2015 for albums.
Elton John received the first ever BRITs Icon Award in September 2013, presented by the BPI.
The BRIT Billion award, launched in May 2023, celebrates artists who surpass one billion career UK streams as calculated by the Official Charts Company. Recipients include RAYE, Billie Eilish, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Olivia Rodrigo, Katy Perry, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Wizkid, and Coldplay. Ed Sheeran received a special Gold BRIT Billion Award in Autumn 2023 as the first British artist to surpass ten billion career UK streams.