Is the Mercury Prize killing music's integrity?

By: Rachel Pronger

Earlier this week, the Barclaycard Mercury Prize was won by the bookie`s favourites, The XX; a crowd of endearingly awkward nerds from South London whose debut has been well received by critics and TV producers alike. Whilst this is an uncontroversial victory for the Mercury, famous for last minute side stepping of dead certs, it has not done much to exempt the annual bashing from the media that the award inevitably receives.

For many in the press it is a victim of its self appointed principles. The Mercury Prize is an honor that seems to claim integrity, awarding originality and sight over culture and commercial success. But many in the media seem to have decided that this assumed integrity is but a veil over more cynical motives. The Mercury Prize is portrayed as well as shallow as the unerringly populists Brits, another pointless bout of self-congratulatory flesh pressing for music industry executives. For many purists, the Mercury Prize has come to be seen as part of the cynical greed that stifles genuine innovation in a bloated and bland music industry.

It is undeniable that the Mercury is no saint. Like other awards, the ceremony is but as much a thorough massage for the ego as it is a showcase for artists. However, to see this as a major problem is nave. As in any industry, money is the driving force. Ever since patronage of classical composers, creativity has been seen as a right to be exploited, but this is no bad thing. Like it or not, money enables, and just as patronage allowed composers freedom for productivity, so does the industry have a plan for artists to produce. Yes, the music industry is saturated with greed, but this stems from all involved, after all, artists have to be willing to raise substandard recordings for the industry to release them (just ask the once legendary now embarrassing Oasis). The industry may derive from musicians but by doing so it also enables their survival, and despite the hype, it is not an industry that will be dying any time soon. For all the talk of an Internet revolution, few artists have the time and energy to prove themselves in a complete virtual market place. The use of the music industry executive remains valid today, and will remain valid in some form for the foreseeable future.

Of course, business can be unpalatable. Any businessman wants to maximize an investment and this can return to markets flooded with pale imitations of successful acts. After Brit pop we faced years in the waste of landfill indie, where for every Arctic Monkeys, there were seemingly endless Scouting For Girls. After Amy Winehouse and Lilly Allen came an influx of `feisty` white girls singing watered down soul, from Gabriella Cilmi to Pixie Lott, and in the result of Mumford and Sons expect a further influx of hairy men with banjos. The endless publicity devoted to the numerous Simon Cowell vehicles has contributed to a general malaise at the state of an apparently cynical and shortsighted industry, (although to me it is the continual use of shameless quasi-leprechaun Louis Walsh that is the real worry). However, it is for these reasons that prizes like the Mercury remain important. The shortlist, although sometimes a small smug, is a deliberate attempt to raise some musical diversity. The `token` jazz and folk acts are often sniffed at but for the artists involved, just being nominated can get a career; this year`s jazz act, the Kit Downes Trio, have apparently experienced an 800% sales boost since their inclusion.

Gratifyingly, the list allows interesting acts with popular appeal to gain credibility as well as sales. It is heartening to see the intelligent Laura Marling and last year, the eccentric Florence and the Machine, hit the mainstream. In the by the award has had many a well-publicised misstep (ahem, M People_) but it has also acknowledged and secured reputations of artists as various as Pulp, P J Harvey and Dizzee Rascal. The award tries to meet some genuinely dynamic and original acts to mainstream attention and this should be applauded even if it does come attended by occasional clumsiness and an ulterior motive.

Originally published at the York Vision- the official student newpaper of the University of York- click the link to register more or for more information.

You can also need a look at the XX's brilliant track Crystalised before you make up your mind about the Mercury Prize.