The
Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as (shôrt–list), was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. First given as a cash prize in 2001 under the name
Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music, the award was created by two
music industry directors, Greg Spotts and Tom Serig, as an alternative to the commercial
Grammy Awards. The recipient is chosen by a panel of
entertainment industry members and journalists known as the "Listmakers". Over 50 of the best albums of the previous 12 months are picked before being narrowed down to the
eponymous Shortlist, from which a winner is chosen. Since 2003, a gold statuette, nicknamed "The Shorty", has been given out in conjunction with the cash prize. In 2005, the Shortlist Music Prize was renamed the
New Pantheon award for a year following a dispute between the prize's founders. No nominees or winners have been announced since the presentation of the 2007 award.