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North stars: Mercury Prize exits capital for regional support deal
BPI CEO Dr Jo Twist discusses the shake-up for the prestigious album award and the wider industry reacts to the ceremony’s move to Newcastle for 2025 BY ANDRE PAINE
BPI CEO Dr Jo Twist has told Music Week that the shake-up for the Mercury Prize this year “opens up lots of potential” for the annual album celebration. Following the decision to stage a broadcast with
an invited audience at Abbey Road Studios last year instead of the usual public ceremony, the BPI has moved the event outside of the capital for the first time in its 33-year history. The Mercury Prize 2025 will take place on
October 16 at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle, following a deal with the city council and the North East Combined Authority. “We’ve always had the aspiration to look at the format,” said Twist. “The Mercury Prize is a prestigious art prize celebrating the storytelling of artists through the format of the album, recognising artists from across the UK and Ireland. It seems right that [the ceremony] should happen around the country, or at least outside of London.” Twist said officials in Newcastle are “very ambitious about positioning themselves as a music city, so it was a fantastic opportunity”. “The support and promotion that they give will
be really important for the prize,” she added. As well as working with local government, the BPI will team up with Newcastle-based music development agency Generator on a fringe programme celebrating Northern talent. “It opens up a lot of potential,” said Twist of this year’s move outside of the capital. The switch has been welcomed across the music business. “Anything the industry does to support music
scenes and communities outside of its historical focus in London should be supported,” said AIM CEO Gee Davy. “We hope that, following the MOBOs’ move there in 2024, the Mercury taking place in Newcastle will further help to strengthen the region’s creative community and bring more public awareness to its music scene.” “I like the idea that the Prize is doing something
different and progressive,” said Toby L, co-founder of Transgressive, whose artist Arlo Parks won in 2021. “Anything that shifts our perpetual focus away from London is most likely a strong and distinctive move.” Jeff Bell, GM of international at
Partisan Records – label home of 2023 winners Ezra Collective – said that he “absolutely supports bringing regional [parts of the] UK into the conversation via the broadcast.” The 2024 Mercury Prize was won
by Island-signed English Teacher from Leeds. The band’s debut, This Could Be Texas, has sales to date of 29,603 (Official Charts Company). While English Teacher’s album did return to the Top 40 following their
08 | Music Week Class act: 2024 Mercury Prize winners English Teacher and (below) BPI CEO Dr Jo Twist
“The Mercury Prize is an important stepping stone
for artists” Jo Twist BPI
victory, there has been a less pronounced impact for Mercury Prize winners in the streaming era. “It’s one of the important stepping stones in an artist’s career,” said Twist. “But you do still see uplifts. You do still see that spotlight being shone on those artists and their bodies of work. It is prestigious in the eyes of the artists.” The BPI boss highlighted the “invaluable” support from BBC Music across TV, radio and digital. The later date for the ceremony also means it will coincide with the media activity around National Album Day on October 18. In the two years since their Mercury win, Ezra Collective achieved a Top 10 follow-up album, played Wembley Arena and won a BRIT Award. “The Mercury Prize win came at the exact right time for the band,” Bell told Music Week. “It validated the decade-plus of work they had done to redefine what it meant to be a contemporary jazz artist, while also providing a platform to take their message and live show to a national audience.” For Partisan, the win helped
to create new opportunities. “Selling out Wembley Arena and winning a BRIT still just feels like the beginning, but the Mercury win was instrumental in that trajectory,” said Bell.
“It’s proven to be a great badge of honour for Arlo Parks’ early years and certainly sets an aspirational, ambitious tone for a long career ahead,” said Toby L. Parks’ winning album Collapsed In Sunbeams is gold-certified. With three of the last five winning LPs coming from independent artists, the prize continues to be a key platform for the sector. Bell described it as “incredibly important” for indies, while noting the rise of major label acts on the shortlist in recent years. “British music’s place in global culture over the last three decades would have looked very different without the records that won the Mercury Prize,” he added. “It is noticeable that much of the Mercury’s
recent cultural resonance has been with wins for artists closely associated with the independent music community,” said Davy. “We believe that it is through more inclusion of truly independent music that its importance can be retained.” “For independent music, which commonly
aspires to produce groundbreaking, thought- provoking and uncompromising art, it’s a terrific podium for a rich tapestry of inspiring artists and musicians,” said Toby L. The deadline to enter albums is June 25. The shortlist will be announced on September 10. “It’s going to be a really exciting Mercury
Prize, because I think there’s going to be a very strong field,” said Twist.
musicweek.com
PHOTO: JMEnternational, Getty, Louise Haywood-Schiefer
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