Noel Gallagher: Indie acts don't stand a chance at Brits

The former Oasis rocker told the BBC’s Colin Paterson he felt the major record labels wielded all the power and so indie artists didn’t stand a chance, no matter how talented they were, unless they had had major success.

Noel said: “I’m an independent artist and we get shafted by people at the Brits.

“You won’t see an independent artist [among the nominees], unless they sell 50 million records and it becomes an impossibility to leave them out.”

He claimed the ceremony was “a bit of a carve-up between the majors” – but admitted he’d still go if he was invited.

The High Flying Birds frontman quipped: “Don’t let this put you off giving me a table. I like award ceremonies and all that social scene – it’s a good laugh.”

In another interview with the Evening Standard, Noel complained the lack of indie acts in the mainstream had made the Brits boring – and the music industry in general. He said: “Is it any coincidence that all the indie labels got bought up by the major labels and things have started to get boring?

“I remember the Brits in 1994 — we were all s***-faced on drugs. The new names like James Blunt, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J — they defer to the [record] labels. The bands that I grew up with had a healthy dose of indifference and contempt towards their labels. That has gone.”

Brit Awards bosses were quick to deny Noel’s accusations.

A spokeswoman for the Brit Awards said: “Over 1,000 music enthusiasts which include representation from all sectors of the music industry (record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, NUS Ents officers along with the ‘Artist’ sector) are invited to be official Brits Voting Academy members.

“In order to ensure the integrity of the vote, the voting process is managed and scrutinised by Electoral Reform Services (ERS).”