Arctic Monkeys win music prize

The rock group the Arctic Monkeys -- who released Britain’s fastest-selling debut album after building a cult Internet following -- has won England’s prestigious Mercury music prize.

The group from Sheffield, in northern England -- whose album “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” has also enjoyed strong global sales -- claimed a $38,000 prize at a London ceremony Tuesday.

Judges of the prize, which has honored the best album of the year by a British or Irish band since 1992, had previously been renowned for overlooking populist choices in favor of obscure artists. The honor is awarded on the basis of innovation, rather than commercial sales.