Mercury Sales Rising

Elbow’s Nationwide Mercury Music Prize-winning album is selling seven times more than before the act won the competition, according to HMV.

The High Street retailer says the 12 albums short-listed for this year’s prize have enjoyed the biggest post-awards sales increase in the event’s 17-year history.

During the first seven days after the Sept. 9 awards gathering at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, HMV says sales of the nominated albums showed an average increase of about 479 percent.

Elbow’s sales for the The Seldom Seen Kid were enough to make it jump from No. 61 to No. 7 on the Official U.K. Album Chart.

“This award is clearly providing the spark for thousands of impulse buys all around the country, and we’re also seeing a pick up in sales of the artists’ previous releases as well,” said HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo.

“If the main purpose of the Nationwide Mercury Prize is to shine a light on music that deserves to be listened to by a wider audience, then Elbow are certainly making a lot of new fans right now.”