TheMercury Prize, formerly called theMercury Music Prize, is an annualmusic prize awarded for the bestalbum released by a musical act from theUnited Kingdom orIreland.[1] It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with theBritish Phonographic Industry and British Association of Record Dealers in 1992 as an alternative to theBrit Awards.
Any album released by a British or Irish artist, or by a band where over 50% of the members are British or Irish, may be submitted for consideration by their record label. There is a fee for submission. Twelve submitted albums are shortlisted for the prize, chosen based solely on their musical merit and irrespective of how popular or successful an album or act that has been submitted may have been in the previous calendar year. The shortlist is chosen by an independent panel of musicians, music presenters, music producers, music journalists, festival organisers, and other figures in the music industry in the UK and Ireland.[1][2][3]
The prize is open to all types of music, including pop, rock, folk, urban, grime, dance, jazz, blues, electronica and classical. Presentation of the awards usually takes place at an Awards Show in October, after the shortlist is announced at the Album of the Year Launch in September. It is often observed that bands whose albums are shortlisted, or win the prize, experience a large increase in album sales, particularly for lesser known acts.[4] Each shortlisted artist receives a specially commissioned 'Albums of the Year' trophy at the Awards Show. Unlike some other music awards, the overall winner of the Mercury Prize also receives a cheque for £25,000. The winner also receives an additional winner's trophy.[1]
The prize was originally sponsored byMercury Communications, a brand owned byCable & Wireless,[5] from which the prize gets its name. It was later sponsored byTechnics[6] (1998 to 2001),Panasonic[5] (2002 and 2003),Nationwide Building Society (2004 to 2008) andBarclaycard (2009–14).[7][8] The 2015 prize was sponsored by the BBC,[8] while in 2016 it was announced that a three-year deal had been struck withHyundai to sponsor the event.[9] It was sponsored byFree Now, as part of a multi-year deal that began in 2022.[10] In 2024, the award lost their deal with Freenow, prompting the cancellation of the ceremony and live performances for that year.[11] In 2025 it was announced that the ceremony would take place inNewcastle, the first time it would be outside London.[12]
To date,PJ Harvey is the only artist to have won the award on more than one occasion (in 2001 and 2011). She was also the first female solo artist to receive the award.Alex Turner has received six nominations, five as a member ofArctic Monkeys and one withThe Last Shadow Puppets, winning once.Thom Yorke has six nominations, five withRadiohead and one forThe Eraser, but has never won.[13]
The awards ceremony was postponed for the first, and so far only, time in 2022 following the death ofQueen Elizabeth II.[14]
The Mercury Prize can have a considerable effect on sales for those artists who are shortlisted.Elbow saw a 700% sales increase of their albumThe Seldom Seen Kid after winning the Prize in 2008.[15] In their winner's speech, Elbow's frontmanGuy Garvey said that winning the Mercury Prize was "quite literally the best thing that has ever happened to us".[16][17] Similarly, sales ofThe xx's winning album rose by 450% the day after they won the 2010 Mercury Prize[18][19] and 2013 winnerJames Blake saw a 2,500% sales increase onAmazon after he was announced as the winner of the 2013 Mercury Prize.[20][21] 2011 winner PJ Harvey's albumLet England Shake jumped from number 181 to 24 in the UK official charts the week after the 2011 Awards Show.[22]
Despite being regarded by many as highly prestigious, it has been suggested that having an album nominated for or winning the Mercury Prize could be a curse on a career in music.[23][24]
In 2001, the bandGorillaz requested that theireponymous debut album be withdrawn from the shortlist, with cartoon bassistMurdoc Niccals saying that winning the award would be "like carrying a dead albatross round your neck for eternity".[25][26]
All genres of music are eligible for entry, and it is stated that all are treated equally, with only the music on the album being taken into account.[1]Simon Frith, chair of the Mercury Prize judging panel, has said that albums are chosen because they are the "strongest" each year, rather than according to genre.[27] However, the presence of classical,folk andjazz recordings has been cited by some as anomalous, arguing that comparisons with the other nominees can be invidious.[28] Classical acts to have an album nominated have includedJohn Tavener,Peter Maxwell Davies,Gavin Bryars andNicholas Maw. None has ever won, and there has not been a shortlisted classical album since 2002.
Other music journalists critical of the awards stated that the 2005 award should not have been given toAntony and the Johnsons for their albumI Am a Bird Now as, although they are British-born and therefore eligible for the Prize, the band was based in the United States.[34][35] In 2006,Isobel Campbell's collaboration withMark Lanegan,Ballad of the Broken Seas, was included in the shortlist, despite Lanegan being American, as the album was eligible due to Campbell's British citizenship, whileGuillemots, whose album was also shortlisted in 2006, contained band members from Brazil and Canada, although the majority were from the United Kingdom.[36]
Current eligibility criteria state that all albums must be available to buy as a digital release in the UK.[1] In September 2013,My Bloody Valentine vocalist and guitaristKevin Shields expressed concerns about the award in an interview withThe Guardian, accusing the Mercury Prize's organisers of "banning" the band's self-released album,m b v, from the shortlist nominations and addressing the nomination criteria, which he claimed branded the album "virtually illegal".[37]
It has been noted thatheavy metal has been overlooked by the prize. A 2013 article byVice on the Mercury Prize said "Metal certainly never gets a look-in, not even on the official entry information form: 'The Prize is open to all types of music, including pop, rock, folk, hip-hop, R'n'B, dance, soul, jazz, blues, electronica, classical…'"[38] The only metal record that has ever been nominated for the Mercury Prize isTroublegum byTherapy? in 1994. In 2011, Mercury chair of judges Frith said "[Metal] is a niche that a lot of people don't listen to."[39] In 2011,The Guardian music criticAlexis Petridis agreed that the Mercury Prize underrepresented heavy metal, but argued that this actually benefitted the genre because "At least part of metal's appeal is its outsider status."[40]
The 2024 Prize was the first time in its history that the show did not have a live audience, due to the award's failure to attract a sponsor.[41]
^Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (30 October 2014)."Young Fathers likely to be touched by unreliable magic of Mercury prize".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved4 December 2014.Mancunian band Elbow, who won in 2008, enjoyed a 700% rise in sales of their album The Seldom Seen Kid in the week following their Mercury victory.
^"Elbow elated at Mercury Prize win".BBC News. 9 September 2008.Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved4 December 2014.'This is quite literally the best thing that's ever happened to us,' singer Guy Garvey told the ceremony in London.
^"Elbow: 'Mercury win is best thing that's ever happened to us'".NME. 9 September 2008.Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved4 December 2014.Elbow claimed that their Nationwide Mercury Prize victory is 'the best thing that's ever happened to us' during their acceptance speech tonight.
^Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (30 October 2014)."Young Fathers likely to be touched by unreliable magic of Mercury prize".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved4 December 2014.It was a similar tale for the XX after their 2010 win. Sales of their debut album soared 450% the day after they won, according to figures from music retailer HMV
^Rainey, Naomi (9 September 2010)."The xx 'terrified' after Mercury win".Digital Spy.Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved4 December 2014.Their debut album, which had sold 125,000 copies prior to winning the prize, has experienced a jump in sales of almost 450% since Tuesday's award ceremony.
^"Pixie Lott and Example – all about number one!".Official Charts. 11 September 2011. Archived fromthe original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved4 December 2014.Finally, the double Mercury Award winning PJ Harvey sees Let England Shake, last week's prize winner, jump a phenomenal 151 places from last week 181 to this week's 24.
^Gill, Andy (14 July 2006)."Curse of the Mercury".The Independent. Archived fromthe original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved18 June 2009....the Mercury Prize has acquired a well-established reputation for destroying its winners' futures...
^Williamson, Nigel (13 July 2003)."Uneasy listening".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved18 June 2009.
^Chrisafis, Angelique (23 July 2003)."Mercury prize puts black artists to the fore".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved4 December 2014..Simon Frith, the head of the judges, yesterday rejected the age-old complaint that the Mercury shortlist featured "token" jazz, folk, classical and soul acts who do not stand a chance. "We are not tokenist, we chose the albums that are strongest,"
^Petridis, Alexis (20 September 2002)."Back to basics".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 9 July 2008. Retrieved10 June 2009.
^"PJ Harvey wins Mercury prize".BBC News. 11 September 2001.Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved23 June 2009....Britain's most prestigious music prize...
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