Review: Mercury - good for all folk?

Subject: Review: Mercury Music Prize - good for all folk?
From: GUEST,Bruce
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 06:14 PM

Is it useful for British folk music to be seen by the the world out there as vested in just one family? Can't help thinking that it would have been good to see some other name than Carthy - not that they aren't a very talented family - appear in the list this year.

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: GUEST,Frank Simons
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 06:39 PM

Know what you mean. Great to see a folk album nominated but Eliza has already received a nomination and it might have been good for folk music at large to show that there are a few more people out there recording great folk albums...does anyone agree?

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: GUEST,Santa at work
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 07:59 AM

Wasn't Kathryn Williams nominated last year?

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: DMcG
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 06:16 AM

I think we are still at the stage where any publicity is welcome, whoever is nominated. Last week's Mike Harding show was based on requests, and one was from a guy who was new to folk, introduced to the genre by Eliza Carthy's appearance on Jools Holland a couple of months back. I can't remember what he requested, but it was not by EC. I think that's excellent and it shows that when people do get turned on to folk its not necessarily just as a fan-club of specific artists.

Yes, it is great to encouragement for non-Carthyites to have other people nominated. But is more important both for folk-in-the-abstract and for those folkies who are wholly or semi-professional that SOMEONE from the folk world is nominated.

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: GUEST,Jane Bird
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 07:04 AM

Kathryn Williams was nominated two or three years ago, now. Same year as Bath Orton, and there was much made, in the media, of the fact that there were two vaugely folkie albums shortlisted. Of course, neither was particularly trad (as Carthy and Rusby's have been), but I don't think that seems to make much difference to the way some approach the "non-mainstream" albums which are shortlisted.

Anglicana is a damn good album and I think it deserves the nomination. Good luck, Eliza, I say!

Cheers,
Jane

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: harvey andrews
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 07:41 AM

The question is how do artists get nominated. Are albums submitted by the artists, by the record companies, by individual fans, are they judged by a committee, if so who nominates the members etc. I've never submitted an album for any award and neither have any of the fellow pros I know well. So how many folk albums were submitted for consideration? How wide is the net and who listens to what is submitted. Is there a weeding out process before the committee hears the last few. If so who weeds.etc, etc, etc
The perennial questions.

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: Jon B
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 08:45 AM

I believe that any record company can nominate an artist. I know for instance at least one small independent company that did. According to a news article I read, a panel of judges listened to about 200 nominated albums before voting on the short list this year.

Don't know who the judges were though.

Cheers

Jon

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: Harry Basnett
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 06:04 PM

Yes we are at the stage of any positive publicity being good publicity and Eliza has proved herself time and time again as an excellent ambassador for the folk scene.

And 'Anglicana' is a bloody good album!!!

Love........Harry.

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: GUEST,Nigel
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 06:23 PM

Anybody can enter an album, but there is an entry fee of £200. The panel is made up of journalists, radio producers etc. who get sent albums in their field to decide on. Notably, in the years Kate Rusby and Red Rice were nominated Colin Irwin was on the panel.

Bearing in mind the prize money is £20,000 and the entry fee is £200, they only need 100 albums to be entered in order to break even. Even then, the prize money is supposedly sponsorship from Panasonic. So it is a big money spinner as well, hence there only being one folk album, one jazz etc that never seem to win. The words 'clear' and 'channel' come to mind... (if you don't know what I'm talking about then read up on Clear Channel and what they are doing to radio and live music in the US)

Subject: RE: Review: Mercury - good for all folk?
From: harvey andrews
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 07:21 PM

So you pay to enter? So merit is not the first consideration, nor popularity, nor.....first find £200. I would suggest that not many albums from the field we are interested in were submitted. Anyway, good luck Eliza.