Mercury frontrunner

The enigma that is Burial is who the betters are putting money behind

31 July 2008 - The 12 artists shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Prize has opened up a heap of discussion on who will scoop the award in September.

6 Music can now update you on who the bookies are currently backing, we speak to the Managing Director of the Official Charts Company to see the chart impact the shortlisted artists are making, and Portico Quartet keep an eye on their rising sales.

Current William Hill odds

William Hill have told 6 Music that there's a clear favourite on who will walk home with the Mercury Prize in September.

Rupert Adams told us about the unexpected betters' favourite: "The money goes on, and it changes the odds completely – and the two people we’ve seen real money for is Radiohead at 9/2 but top of the pops, Burial is very much the favourite at the moment at 3/1."

Rupert also told us The Last Shadow Puppets aren't doing so well: “I wouldn’t go as far as saying they are the outsider - Portico Quartet are well out there and Adele interestingly is a 14/1 shot. Neon Neon are way out there. but certainly the betting suggests it’s between the top three which is Elbow, Radiohead and Burial.”

"Burial is very much the favourite at the moment at 3/1."
William Hill

Chart changes

The Mercury effect has also started working its magic on the charts.

Looking at the impact the nominations usually have, Martin Talbot from the Official Charts Company said: “The Mercury nomination is a very good showcase and seal of approval for an album, and what generally happens is those on the shortlist receive a kick in sales.”

He said that last week all but a couple of the 12 nominated albums saw increases in sales.

In the case of the lesser known artists like Portico Quartet and Rachel Unthank And The Winterset, Talbot said there have been significant boosts.

“As a result of the fact that they’re building from quite a low sales base saw massive differences, Portico Quartet for example saw an increase in sales of over 600% last week, which is pretty impressive,” he explained. “It’s an album that hasn’t really been that high profile before the nominations and so is a very strong performance.”

They’ve stood out in the sales more than The Last Shadow Puppets and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, who have already sold a lot of records.

Last weeks figures proved successful for one London singer in particular: “Of the best known albums, the Adele album 19, got the biggest kick getting a 38% increase in sales last week.”

As for the figures for this week, Talbot said they are still increasing: “Rachael Unthank is almost 300% up, and the Burial was almost 250% up. British Sea Power is up 250% week on week and the Neon Neon is up about 120% week on week.”

Talbot also predicts they'll get more and more as bands do more Mercury related press.

He explained: “As the media begin to pay more attention to these artists and they might start appearing on TV programmes, having their tracks played on the radio – again that acts as a means to nudge people to go out and part with their money.”

Comparisons with The Brits

There is a strange relationship between the Mercury’s and the charts, when the Mercury shortlist is debated, commercial success of the artists is insignificant; however, when the nominations are released, there is always a strong impact on sales.

In comparing the Mercury’s impact to The Brit Awards, Talbot said: “The Brit Awards is much more of a reflection of how the business has performed over the previous year.

“It reflects maybe the music that has already sold and so it is more difficult to give the winners a kick in sales. Having said that, The Brits still does that but it ‘s at a different level.”

In the case of Portico Quartet, Talbot said: “It will go a long way to helping them build and audience, but in the grand scheme of things it’s still relatively few sales.”

Word from Portico Quartet

But the jazz outfit say increased sales certainly isn't their priority.

The band told 6 Music: “Good sales is great, and obviously it really helps us do more. I mean we do watch the sales and stuff but what we really like looking at next is what’s gonna happen musically. At our fingertips is where we have most control and that’s what we really pay attention to the most.”

And were thrilled with their nomination and the exposure they anticipate it will give them: “Hopefully it will mean a lot of people get out of their houses and come and see a band that maybe they wouldn’t have gone to see, another jazz group. Hopefully they’ll be intrigued and we’re just hoping to get a whole load of new listeners - and I’m confident there’s people will dig it.”

Georgie Rogers