The Barclaycard Mercury Prize has announced changes in its format for 2012. The changes include an expanded Awards Show involving a move to Roundhouse venue in Camden.


Other new features are:
- All of the shortlisted artists will be invited to perform live at the final event on Thursday 1 November.
- There will be a new series of exclusive one-off live gigs featuring the ‘Albums of the Year’ shortlisted artists, which will be recorded for broadcast, with tickets made available to fans through ticket competitions and promotions.
- Channel 4 will become the Prize’s official television partner and there will be far more television coverage of the prize than before.


Dan Ford, Managing Director of the Mercury Prize says
"The motivation for the changes: “It’s essential that the Barclaycard Mercury Prize proposition evolves and continues to deliver exciting and engaging experiences that appeal to music fans. By providing access to a whole season of Barclaycard Mercury Prize live events, broadcast coverage and online content, we will be able to help even more people discover and experience the amazing range of new music that comes out of the UK every year - generating more interest in the shortlisted artists and albums than ever before. It’s fantastic news that we are in a position to move forward with these plans in partnership with Barclaycard as part of their ongoing support of music in the UK"”


The shortlist of ‘2012 Albums of the Year’ will be announced on Wednesday 12 September.