The 'Pirate Brits': the UK's most torrented artists revealed

Adele: downloaded illegally by someone like you?
Adele: downloaded illegally by someone like you? (Image credit: Frank Trapper/Corbis)

The UK music industry is set to pat itself on the back at tomorrow's Brit Awards 2012 ceremony, and to mark the occasion, music analytics company Musicmetric has revealed who would win each of the awards based on illegal filesharing figures.

In many cases, the winners- which show which artists/albums/songs have been torrented most by UK users over the past year - will probably be in line with those of The Brits, but some other results are slightly surprising.

Here are the 'Pirate Brit' awards results in full:

Best Male

1. Ed Sheeran
2. James Morrison
3. James Blake
4. Professor Green
5. Noel Gallagher

Best Female

1. Adele
2. Jessie J
3. Florence & the Machine
4. Laura Marling
5. Kate Bush

British Breakthrough

1. Jessie J
2. Ed Sheeran
3. The Vaccines
4. Emeli Sande
5. Anna Calvi

British Album

1. Adele - 21
2. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
3. Florence - Ceremonials
4. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

British Group

1. Coldplay
2. Chase & Status
3. Arctic monkeys
4. Kasabian
5. Elbow

International Male

1. Bruno Mars
2. David Guetta
3. Aloe Blacc
4. Bon Iver
5. Ryan Adams

International Female

1. Rihanna
2. Lady GaGa
3. Beyonce
4. Bjork
5. Feist

International Group

1. Foo Fighters
2. Lady Antebellum
3. Maroon 5
4. Fleet Foxes
5. Jay Z and Kanye West

International Breakthrough

1. Nicki Minaj
2. Foster The People
3. Lana Del Ray
4. Aloe Blacc
5. Bon Iver

British Single

1. Adele - Someone Like You
2. One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
3. Jessie J - Price Tag
4. Ed Sheeran - The A Team
5. Olly Murs - Heart Skips a Beat
6. JLS - You Make Me Wanna
7. Example - Changed the Way you Kissed Me
8. Military Wives - Wherever You Are

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.