The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as (shôrt–lĭst), was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. First given as a cash prize in 2001 under the name ''Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music'', the award was created by two music industry directors, Greg Spotts and Tom Serig, as an alternative to the commercial Grammy Awards. The recipient is chosen by a panel of entertainment industry members and journalists known as the "Listmakers". Over 50 of the best albums of the previous 12 months are picked before being narrowed down to the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

Shortlist, from which a winner is chosen. Since 2003, a gold statuette, nicknamed "The Shorty", has been given out in conjunction with the cash prize. In 2005, the Shortlist Music Prize was renamed the ''New Pantheon'' award for a year following a dispute between the prize's founders. No nominees or winners have been announced since the presentation of the 2007 award. Modeled on the British

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

, the Shortlist Music Prize was conceived to honor "the most adventurous and creative albums of the year across all genres of music". At the end of 2001, Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós became the first recipients following a ceremony at the Hollywood

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

Virgin Megastores Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street. In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenha ...

sponsored the award during the inaugural year. The Shortlist Music Prize's format continued in similar fashion the following years, but at different venues.

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

opened an online store for the award, which included CD samplers of each year's nominated acts. The majority of the seven winners so far have been singer-songwriters: Irishman

Damien Rice Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success ...

won in 2003, Americans Sufjan Stevens and Cat Power were successful in 2005 and 2006, respectively, and Canadian Feist won in 2007. Three winning albums eligible at the time of nomination—

N.E.R.D N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Recor ...

's '' In Search of...'', Rice's '' O'', and Feist's ''

The Reminder ''The Reminder'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Feist. It was released on April 23, 2007 in countries outside of North America, and May 1, 2007 in the United States and Canada. Following its release, it debuted on the ...

''—went on to sell over 500,000 copies in the United States and achieved gold certification. ''Note: User search required.'' N.E.R.D received the accolade between the time of nomination and the award ceremony. The Shortlist Music Prize quickly became an anticipated event and a coveted award. It provided an artistic and

independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

focus in contrast to the Grammys' major label or chart rankings affiliations. The 2003 and 2004 Shortlist Music Prize ceremonies were shown on MTV2 in recorded format. In 2005, Sarig started using the New Pantheon name after co-founder Spotts left to focus on politics. The 2005 award ceremony was pushed back from the end of the year to March 2006 to coincide with the Grammys; it was eventually canceled because of "logistical reasons" and winner Stevens was given his prize informally. After threatening legal action for the continuation of the Short List brand under the New Pantheon guise, Spotts returned and purchased both trademarks, uniting the two titles under the Shortlist Music Prize. The award ceremony continued to be held in the early part of years until the last given prize for 2007.

Winners and shortlisted nominees

TV on the Radio 2008 Treasure Island Music Festival cropped

References

{{Authority control American music awards Awards established in 2001

Winners and shortlisted nominees

See also

References