Photo: Wenn
This year's Mercury Music Prize award will now be hosted by BBC Music leaving it's home as televised by Channel 4.
This new partnership announced today will see the iconic award for British and Irish music return to the BBC. Programming will feature on both BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music as a part of the new multi-platform content extension BBC Music has been vying for.
The announcement for the Mercury 'Album of the Year' award will be hosted by both BBC Four and 6 Music on Friday, November 20. Record labels are encouraged to submit their entries from Thursday July 9 for an exclusive Radio 6 shortlist announcement on Friday October 16.
Last year's winners, Young Fathers, performing at Mercury Awards 2014
The Mercury prize was set up in 1992 as an alternative to the BRIT awards. Since then winners have included Primal Scream, Portishead, Pulp, Badly Drawn Boy, PJ Harvey, Dizzee Rascal, Arctic Monkeys, The XX, Alt-J, James Blake and most recently, Young Fathers.
The BBC Music initiative aims to bring a strongest commitment to music than there has been in the last 30 years of the BBC and was started in June last year.
Speaking on the new Mercury Prize transition, the director of the project, Bob Shennan said: "BBC Music celebrates and supports British music on every scale and form, so a partnership with the esteemed Mercury Prize is a natural and exciting fit. Our programming will reflect the diversity of the Prize and will feature performances and interviews from the 12 shortlisted acts."
If it means more music on the telly, it sounds very exciting.
