There were welcome increases in both the singles and albums markets in August, our monthly analyses showing that album sales rose by 4% while the singles market experienced a 10% increase, the highest since February. In the albums market digital sales continued to record strong growth, up by 37%. Al... [More]

While the rather nebulous aim of the Mercury Prize is a bit of a sticking point for some industry commentators (complaints can usually be filed under the heading ‘What Exactly Is It Rewarding?’), I’ve never personally had too much of a problem with it. And neither, I suspect, have any of this year’s... [More]