Shortlist prize unveils hopefuls

Wolfmother won a Grammy as best hard rock act

Artists ranging from The Roots to Wolfmother to Regina Spektor are among those being considered for the annual Shortlist Music Prize.

This honours critically acclaimed releases in the US that have not broken into the mainstream market.

Among the judges are Franz Ferdinand, KT Tunstall and last year's winner, Sufjan Stevens.

The longlist of 61 will be whittled down to 10 finalists, with the winner announced in April.

The criteria for nominees includes any album released last year that did not sell more than 500,000 copies.

The Roots have been nominated for their album Game Theory, along with Beck's The Information, past winner TV On The Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain, Australian rock band Wolfmother's self-titled debut and Regina Spektor's Begin to Hope.

Besides Stevens and TV On The Radio, past winners of the Shortlist prize include Sigur Ros, N.E.R.D. and Damien Rice.