J Hus’s nomination for the Hyundai Mercury Prize has led to a significant surge in sales for his debut album Common Sense (Black Butter), Music Week analysis reveals.
Common Sense’s sales increased 29.02% from 63,245 to 81,598 over the period, meaning he sold an extra 18,000 copies in the six weeks since the shortlist was announced. That’s a larger unit sum than any other album except Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Atlantic), which sold an extra 90,296 copies, but only increased 4.31% on its already massive base.
J Hus has also notably upped his profile during the nominations period, appearing on the cover of ShortList magazine as well as Music Week.
Ahead of the Hyundai Mercury Prize on Thursday evening (September 14), Music Week analysis of sales in the run-up to the event suggests the award has already given a boost to many of the acts on the line-up. On average, the 12 nominated albums increased their sales by 15.11% in the six weeks between the shortlist being announced and Friday’s chart, the last before the ceremony.
The nominees should get a further boost from Sunday’s (September 10) BBC Two show, Best Album 2017: Meet The Mercury Prize Shortlist, followed by the live BBC Four and 6 Music coverage on Thursday.
Alongside albums by Sheeran and J Hus, the shortlist includes Alt-J, Blossoms, Dinosaur, Glass Animals, Kate Tempest, Loyle Carner, Sampha, Stormzy, The Big Moon and The xx.
To read the Music Week analysis, click here or pick up this week’s issue. To subscribe and never miss a big music biz story, click here.
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