So, the shortlist for the Hyundai Mercury Prize is out, bursting with 12 great records that artists and labels alike will be hoping now receive some extra attention from the wider public.
The days of the Mercury winner racking up a huge post-ceremony sales boost may be behind us, but a nomination can still have a significant impact on a campaign, particularly for some of the lesser-known acts on the line-up.
And many of this year’s list certainly still have some sales potential to be realised. The 12 entries feature just two gold-certified albums (Dave and The 1975), with none of the others yet to hit silver status. Five of the albums have sold fewer than 10,000 copies to date.
The range goes from the biggest-seller, The 1975’s highly-acclaimed A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (Dirty Hit/Polydor) with 138,397 sales to date, according to the Official Charts Company, down to Seed Ensemble’s rather less known Driftglass, which has moved just 374 copies so far.
You can certainly expect that total to rise in the next few weeks, as we home in on the Mercury Prize ceremony on September 19. In the meantime, here’s the full list of how this year’s dozen contenders have sold to date (not including any sales racked up so far this week)…
Anna Calvi, Hunter (Domino): 9,823
Black Midi, Schlagenheim (Rough Trade): 3,400
Cate Le Bon, Reward (Mexican Summer): 2,957
Dave, Psychodrama (Dave Neighbourhood/Universal): 112,976
Foals, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Pt 1 (Warner Records): 51,712
Fontaines DC, Dogrel (Partisan): 17,915
Idles, Joy As An Act Of Resistance (Partisan): 48,554
Little Simz, Grey Area (Age 101/AWAL): 7,584
Nao, Saturn (RCA): 11,832
Seed Ensemble, Driftglass (Jazz Refreshed): 374
Slowthai, Nothing Great About Britain (Method/Universal), 15,252
The 1975, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (Dirty Hit/Polydor): 138,397
* Stay tuned to musicweek.com for further Mercury Prize coverage.
FOLLOW 
