The Brits, Mercury Prize, and more: Are the UK’s biggest awards sparking a shift in the British music scene?
The shock in the Coop Live arena when Björk stepped out to perform her part in Rosalía’s ‘Berghain’ was palpable. It felt like an especially remarkable moment for the Brit Awards, even for somewhere as remarkable as Manchester itself. Or perhaps, that was the point.
Over the past few years, large-scale celebrations of British music have been disproportionately pop-leaning, with many of the more indie or alternative acts often being overlooked, overshadowed, or left out of category or performance groups entirely. It makes sense, considering the monopoly of commercialism in the British music industry, but this has typically rendered other, more diverse voices to the sidelines.
The recent Brits, however, plus several other ceremonies and initiatives, have proven how we might be witnessing a shift towards celebrating different corners of the industry and finally, finally, giving credence to all the figures who have shaped our musical community in recent years. Granted, we’ve a long way to go before events and other spotlighting spectacles present a true, representative picture of the entire scene, but it’s certainly a start.
Now, considering this was the Brits’ first foray up north and outside of its usual home at London’s O2, this is a natural step to generate hype and raise its own standards, but is this truly a one-off to prove that its move to Manchester’s Coop Live was the right decision, or is this change actually here to stay? Is the alternative world reclaiming a place at the table?
When you look at last year’s list of nominees and winners, there is a stark difference between the state of its broader music offering, even in its subtleties. For instance, looking at performers alone, last year, the only main alternative acts were Sam Fender and The Last Dinner Party. Among those were many figureheads of pop, including Sabrina Carpenter, Jade, Lola Young, and Jorja Smith.
This year, audiences were treated to a more representative mix of both the British and Mancunian music scene, with performances by Wolf Alice, Rosalía, and Björk. There were also appearances by many of rock’s rising stars and iconic legends, like Sam Fender, Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Bez, Geese, a commemoration of The Stone Roses’ Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield by The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess, and a special intro to the ceremony’s ‘Songwriter of the Year’, Noel Gallagher, by Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie.
Björk, a meticulously selective and elusive figure when it comes to public appearances, appeared alongside Rosalía as one of the night’s surprises, while some of the winning rock acts also used the stage to call attention to important topics. Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, for instance, called attention to the grassroots venues where they got their start, many of which no longer exist.
“We’d like to also thank all of the pubs and clubs and grassroots venues across the country where we quite literally learned to play our instruments and write our songs,” she said, adding:
“Thank you for opening your doors to us, and thank you to those who continue the fight to keep them open.”
Ellie Rowsell
Other artists have used various award stages for righteous speeches over the years, but with more voices in the arena, it feels more conducive to the kind of environment where a progressive spirit thrives. After all, when more people get in the ring, we’re more likely to see actual, tangible change. And if the new music landscape – with backers as prestigious as the Brits – is supporting the championing of such causes, we might actually be heading somewhere more positive in the world of culture.
This quiet hum of transformation also comes as we gear up for another local milestone: the second time the Mercury Prize will be held at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena. For years, the Mercury Prize has been seen as the Brits’ alternative sister, favouring a more diverse array of talent, with only a few pop acts emerging alongside their indie-leaning counterparts.
That said, by moving their operations up north, we’re witnessing a proactive refocus on the lesser spotlighted UK music hubs in moves that nurture local scenes while providing a stage and a space for new talent to thrive. The streak of events that occurs in the build-up to these shows also suggests community world-building, where talent can exist outside of London and still be recognised.
Thus, with all that in mind, it’s clear that there’s been a shift in the British new music scene towards greater inclusivity, and while time will tell whether this is, in fact, a trend that’s here to stay, it certainly points towards a bigger, more glaring truth about the potential for the north and its alternative ethos to shoulder out some space amid a mainstream that has been safeguarded by commercial interests and the same-old status quo for too long.
After all, there’s no denying that British music awards and initiatives have felt a little stale and lifeless for some years, and the same can be said for many safe ceremonies, especially when it comes to pushing new faces and audience engagement. As it happens, before moving to Newcastle, even the Mercury Awards’ last outing in London was devoid of any crowd whatsoever. With the exception of a few niche events, the landscape has felt siloed predominantly to traditional mainstream spaces, with little room for the more experimental or indie artists, and sometimes even the international ones, too.
Thus, the eclecticism we’re seeing proves that, with a new backdrop and a host of emerging artists, the music scene was rarely faltering – it was just struggling to be platformed. However, while this shift certainly seems filled with the kind of explosive energy you’d expect from a room witnessing a better, more inclusive musical range than ever before, the real test will be if this energy pivots into endurance beyond the initial hype.
And if the initial comments made by Committee member Dr Jo Twist OBE about the move of the Brits to Manchester are anything to go by, this may be a change that is here to stay. As she put it, the pivot “celebrates not only the city’s exceptional musical heritage and its status as a powerhouse of British creativity, but the great depth of artistic energy and potential that exists all across the UK.”
