How Community Helped Skepta Win Mercury Prize
Sunny SJ Winter
Manager, Sony Music Entertainment (Kollective Neighbouring Rights) | Music Industry Interviewer
Every year, the Mercury Prize provides one of my favourite evenings in the annual Music Industry calendar; a shortlist of eleven artist's work from the last 12 months, with only one winner; album of the year.
The winning artist generally sees a substantial rise in sales of its winning album - Elbow's 2008 release 'The Seldom Seen Kid' saw a 700% rise; 2013 winner James Blake's 2013 'Overgrown' saw a staggering 2500% sales increase on Amazon. It's clear that the ￡25,000 Mercury Prize money isn't the only financial reward, let alone the respect and plaudits from peers.
With Skepta's name called out as the winner, the main takeaway for me is the importance of community (to Skepta and for his success) and how, if done correctly, it allows for a solid foundation for progression within the music business; more stalwarts to promote your music and more organic growth.