The nominees for the inaugural Australian Music Prize (The Amp 2005) have been announced. Similar to the prestigious Mercury Music Prize handed out in the UK each year, the Australian Music Prize looks to increase widespread exposure of local artists, which will serve to enhance their global career aspirations along with the artist receiving a $25,000 cash prize.

The judging panel for the award consist of over fifty industry folk including music retailers, music journalists, established artists and music event promoters.

The winner will be announced at The AMP 2005 Winner’s Event, to be held in Sydney on Wednesday 8th March.

So now to the shortlist:

Ben Lee – Awake Is The New Sleep
The Devastations – Coal  
The Drones – Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Our Enemies Will Float By                    
The Go-Betweens – Oceans Apart
The Mess Hall – Notes From The Ceiling 
Tex, Don & Charlie – All Is Forgiven
TZU – Smiling At Strangers
Wolfmother – Wolfmother

For more information the Shortlist 8 please log on to the special page on the BigPond website.