Wadsworth passes baton for Brits 2004.

Tony Wadsworth is stepping down as Brits chairman after overseeing one of the most far-reaching series of changes in the event's history.

Universal Music chairman Lucian Grainge and BPI executive chairman Peter Jamieson are joining forces to take over the running of the awards, after Wadsworth's third and final year in the seat.

Last Thursday's show at London's Earls Court II completely abandoned the traditional format, moving to an early evening slot and a broadcast by ITV1 later the same night. It also scrapped the traditional pre-show dinner and table seating for concert seats, as live acts included Coldplay, David Gray, Pink and Justin Timberlake.

Wadsworth believes the changes have "broken the mould" of how the event is organised. "It's been a very similar format for several years now and, having changed so many things in one go, it's now an open field to make whatever changes we want to make in the future," he says. "It has probably taken the fear factor out of it."

This year also saw the tightest security yet on advance knowledge of the winners, preventing leaks to the media that have hit the event in recent years. Wadsworth says he did not even know who had triumphed prior to the results being announced at the ceremony, which he believes created genuine surprise for the artists and their managers.

The outgoing chairman says the changes made a much better TV programme, as the focus was on the show rather than people "schmoozing". "What it does mean is that the hubbub of people hopping from table to table was not there in the hall, but that doesn't take away from the excitement of the show," he says.

However, the effectiveness of the changes remained in dispute last Friday. An average 7.3m ...