Research

For initial research I read up on the recent Mercury Music Awards as it is up to date and relevent news about the music media industry. As we get a feel for our course, this will make connections between what we hope to achieve and the real world. In shock news this year, 'The XX' won the prize for the 1st time, beating favirotes Paul Weller and Dizzie Rascal.


The XX win Mercury music prize:

'Electronic band The xx have won the Mercury music prize for their debut album xx.


The south London trio fought off competition from 11 other shortlisted acts including bookies' favourite Paul Weller, Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Dizzee Rascal and Foals.

Their victory means they follow in the footsteps of groups such as Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys and Elbow.

The xx's intimate and sensual sound has impressed critics for the past year.

The award - called the Barclaycard Mercury Prize - is designed to reward the best album of the past 12 months and is worth £20,000.

It will also mean a huge boost in sales.

The xx had attended the same London school, the Elliott School, as previous Mercury nominees Hot Chip and Burial.

Frontman Oliver Sim was stunned by the music prize: "I don't know what we were expecting but we weren't expecting this."

Paul Weller was the bookies' favourite to win

Sim added: "We've had the most incredible year and it's just felt like every day we've woken up to something incredible we weren't expecting."

Asked what he would spend the prize money on, he said: "Haven't a clue."

But bandmate Romy Croft suggested a new studio could be on the cards.

She said: "We made this album in a converted garage the size of a bathroom."

The judges said: "Hypnotic beats and hushed voices combine in a brilliant evocation of space and time."

Head of judges Simon Frith said it was "a record of its time".

He said: "It's a very urban record, it is part of that urban soundscape when no-one has any idea what is going to happen next."'