Published: 03 Oct 2022
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is once again asking music fans to ‘have their SAY’ and vote for their favourite Scottish album from the recently announced Longlist to secure its place in 2022’s 10-strong Shortlist. Music fans are given a 72-hour window to vote at sayaward.com, and the album with the most votes will secure a minimum prize of £1,000 and remain in the running for the £20,000 grand prize and coveted title of Scottish Album of the Year. The nine other Shortlisted albums will be selected by this year’s SAY Award judging panel, who will then together consider the Shortlist and determine 2022’s SAY Award winner.
Robert Kilpatrick, Creative Director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) / The SAY Award, said: The SAY Award public vote is the chance for music fans to have their SAY in the determination of the Shortlist. From the 20 outstanding Scottish albums that made up this year’s Longlist, the public’s choice will automatically be guaranteed a place in the 10-strong Shortlist along with a minimum prize of £1,000.
In any year prize money is significant for artists, but in the face of the current financial crisis, this support will make an instrumental difference. Now’s the time to get behind your favourite record, and we look forward to revealing and then championing 10 of the best Scottish albums of the last year in the lead up to 2022’s SAY Award Ceremony on Thursday 20 October.”
Alan Morrison, Head of Music at Creative Scotland said: “The SAY Award does more than throw a spotlight on the best albums of the past year. It celebrates the fact that, right now in 2022, Scotland’s music is defined by its diversity, as artists from so many different backgrounds make outstanding music in every genre imaginable. This year’s longlist is proof that the pressure of the pandemic added fuel to the creative fire – the work of Scotland’s musicians stands shoulder to shoulder with the best the world has to offer.
“I’m proud to note that Creative Scotland directly funded the recording or promotion of half of the longlisted albums, while also providing a helping hand of support to almost all these artists at key points earlier in their career. At the end of the day, though, what matters is that fans keep listening to brilliant new music. Taking part in the public vote is the best way to share your favourite with audiences everywhere.”
Long regarded as one of the most democratic awards in the industry,The SAY Award online public vote via www.sayaward.com is free to enter and is restricted to one vote per person.
This spirit of fairness is at the heart of the SAY Award, which doesn’t require participation fees from artists and considers bodies of work that are at least 6 tracks and/or 30 minutes long as eligible albums to reduce barriers to entry. One of the most lucrative prize funds in the UK, the winner of The SAY Award – announced at the final ceremony on Thursday 20 October at The Albert Halls in Stirling – will take home £20,000, while the nine runner’s up receive £1,000 each along with bespoke art prizes created via The SAY Design Commission.
The album that triumphs at the public vote will join 9 other albums on the Shortlist, which is whittled down by a panel of cultural tastemakers and industry professionals. Yesterday The SAY Awardannounced the judges for 2022’s prize – selected from a range of backgrounds and specialisms – who will together decide 2022’s Scottish Album of the Year. The panel includes Amina Shah (CEO, National Library of Scotland); Anneliese Harmon(General Manager, MMF); Corbyn Asbury (Label Relations Manager, YouTube); Dave Francis (Director, TRACS); Jackie Wylie (CEO / Artistic Director, National Theatre of Scotland); Jude McArdle (Membership Manager, AIM); Khaleda Noon (Executive Director, Intercultural Youth Scotland); Paul Black (Writer / Director / Comedian); Shereen Cutkelvin (Presenter, BBC Introducing) and Will Page (Author and Economist).
20 outstanding Scottish albums were announced as The SAY Award Longlist on Thursday 15 September; whittled down from 369 eligible albums by 100 impartial music industry Nominators. The Longlist is available to explore on www.sayaward.com, as well as in-person at a free exhibition in the award-winning music venue; Tolbooth in Stirling which features enlarged album artworks displayed across the walls.The twenty albums featured represent one of the most diverse genre spreads in the eleven years of the award, showcasing Scotland’s eclectic musical landscape and highlighting a range of subcultures and artistic styles.
In alphabetical order, The SAY Award Longlist for 2022 is as follows:
The 72-hour public vote is open from 00:00 on Monday 3 October until midnight on Wednesday 5 October, and the SAY Award Shortlist will be announced on Thursday 6 October. On the same day, for the second year, the five Sound of Young Scotland Award finalists and the Modern Scottish Classic Award winner will also be revealed – in which a Scottish album with lasting influence is chosen by the Longlisted artists to be honoured at the ceremony.
The legacy of last year’s debut Modern Scottish Classic winners, Frightened Rabbit, continues through SAY Award’s charity partnership with Tiny Changes, set up in memory of late frontman Scott Hutchinson. The SAY Award is developed and produced by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), with accessibility, inclusivity and diversity at the heart of their flagship project. Other partners for 2022 include Creative Scotland, Stirling Council, Stirling Alive With Scotland, YouTube Music, Go Forth, Ticketmaster, Spotify, PPL,Youth Music Initiative,Youth Music, Brewgooder, Stirling Distillery and Music Declares Emergency.
Returning for its 11th edition – and its Stirling debut – previous winners of The SAY Award include Mogwai ‘As The Love Continues’ (2021), Nova ‘Re-Up’ (2020), Auntie Flo ‘Radio Highlife’ (2019), Young Fathers ‘Cocoa Sugar’ (2018), Sacred Paws ‘Strike A Match’ (2017), Anna Meredith ‘Varmints’ (2016), Kathryn Joseph ‘Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve Spilled’ (2015), Young Fathers ‘Tape Two’ (2014), RM Hubbert ‘Thirteen Lost & Found’ (2013) and the inaugural winner Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat ‘Everything’s Getting Older’ (2012). To date,The SAY Award has distributed over £300,000 in prize money across ten previous campaigns, and 2022 is set to further amplify Scottish musical talent to a global audience.
To keep up to date with SAY Award 2022 news, follow the award on social media across Twitter @SAYaward, Instagram @sayaward and Facebook @SAYaward.
Vote for your favourite and buy say award ceremony tickets at www.sayaward.com
The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) is a not-for-profit trade body and membership organisation which exists to strengthen, empower and unite Scotland’s music industry.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Rooted in the heart of Scotland, Stirling’s blossoming urban city centre is surrounded by diverse rural communities. The nation’s most cherished landmarks are found here, making Stirling alive with history, while a growing modern arts scene nurtures new cultural talent.
YouTube Music is a new music streaming service made for music listening, on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever.
Ticketmaster is the global and local market leader in live event ticketing, digital marketing, and mobile fan engagement tools that drive over 500 million tickets to fans in 32 countries.
Founded in 1934, PPL is the UK music industry’s collective management organisation (CMO) for over 120,000 performers and record companies. We licence recorded music in the UK when it is played in public (shops, bars, nightclubs, offices etc.) or broadcast (BBC, commercial radio, commercial TV etc.) and ensure that revenue flows back to our members.
TheYouth Music Initiative is a music education programme with a vision to put music at the heart of young people’s lives and learning funded by the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland. You can find out more about the programme on the Creative Scotland website.
Youth Music believes every young person should have the chance to change their life through music. Yet our research shows many can’t because of who they are, where they’re from or what they’re going through.
Since its launch in London in July 2019, Music Declares Emergency has worked with the music industry and artists to harness the power of music to educate, inspire and engage the public with the climate emergency and to facilitate industry wide conversations to encourage and envision a sustainable music industry.
Go Forth Business Improvement District (BID) involves Stirling businesses working together and investing collectively in local improvements. For more details visit www.goforthstirling.co.uk
Beth Harvey | [email protected] | 07792 219 162
Shona Bruce | [email protected] | 07740 948 719
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