Mercury Prize 2016 nominee The Comet Is Coming criticises new voting system
For the little guys like us, we’re obviously going to get less votes'
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Your support makes all the difference.This year’s Mercury Prize was notable for a number of reasons - a spectacular rendition of David Bowie’s “Lazarus” by Michael C Hall, Skepta’s win - yet there was one massive behind the scenes change that affected the awards substantially for everyone involved.
Instead of judges voting for the six albums to be moved into the final stage, the public was asked to pick one of the final six, therefore giving an advantage to those with a substantial online following
The finalists included Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool, David Bowie’s Blackstar, Laura Mvula’s The Drawing Room, Michael Kiwanuka’s Love And Hate, and Skepta’s Konichiwa.
The 1975’s I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It won the general publics vote, therefore entering the top six.
That meant the likes of Anohni, Bat For Lashes, and Jamie Woon did not make the final cut and were not saved by the public.
One of the contestants who didn’t make the final list, The Comet Is Coming’s bassist King Shabaka, was annoyed the awards somewhat favour those with an already big fanbase.
“I don’t like the public vote. Some of the acts obviously have big capital behind them from major labels, which gives them bigger fanbases to have more people to vote for them,” he told NME.
“For the little guys like us, who only have 2,000 Facebook followers, we’re obviously going to get less votes. So the vote skews the prize towards the acts who have a good set-up from the beginning.”
Meanwhile, this year's Mercury Prize was watched by signifigantly more viewers than last year: 243,300 compared to 189,00 in 2015.
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CORRECTION: Previously, the article stated all six finalists were voted for by the public. This was a misunderstanding; only one album is voted on by the public; this year it was the 1975's.
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