FAQ's
Q: How much does it cost to submit an Eligible Album for The SAY Award?
A: There is no fee required to submit an Eligible Album for The SAY Award. The SMIA encourages artists, labels and music fans alike to submit Eligible Albums to our website, showcasing the extraordinary strength and diversity of Scotland’s recorded output.
Q: What is The SAY Award prize fund?
A: The winner of The SAY Award receives a £20,000 prize. The nine other Shortlisted titles each receive a £1,000 prize.
Q: When can you submit an Eligible Album to be considered for The SAY Award?
A: For 2019’s campaign, submissions are open from 1 May. The deadline for submissions is midnight on 31 May
Q: Who are the Nominators for The SAY Award?
A: Each year, the SMIA recruits 100 impartial nominators for The SAY Award. Nominators are chosen from press, radio, music venues, jazz, classical, traditional folk, retail and elsewhere in the arts, and are tasked with considering titles from our Eligible Album List and nominating their five favourites, ranking them in order of preference. The SMIA assigns a score to each title in a Nominator’s ‘Top 5’ (#1 – 10pts; #2 – 8pts; #3 – 6pts etc.), collating all 100 before announcing the 20 highest scoring albums as The SAY Award Longlist.
Nominators remain unpublished until the Longlist is announced to keep the process as fair as possible. Once the Longlist is announced, all Nominators for The SAY Award are displayed on our website.
Q: Who are the Judges for The SAY Award?
A: Our Judging Panel changes each year, and is made up of key music journalists, radio producers and representatives from the worlds of theatre, literature and the arts. Previous judges have included the composer Craig Armstrong, Turner Prize winning artists Douglas Gordon and Susan Philipsz, Filmmaker Lynne Ramsey, Music Editor of The Skinny Tallah Brash, DJ and Promoter Sarra Wild, Edinburgh International Festival Director Fergus Linehan, Sub Club Partner/Director Barry Price and Scottish Ballet’s Sophie Laplane.
It’s the job of The SAY Award Judging Panel to consider The Longlist, with a view to selecting nine for The Shortlist. The final Shortlisted title is chosen by the public following a 72-hour online public vote. Our judging panel reconvene for the ceremony and decide who picks up the £20,000 first prize and coveted title of Scottish Album of the Year.
The SAY Award Judging Panel for 2019 will be announced in due course.
Q: Who has previously won The SAY Award?
A: 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)
Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat – ‘Everything’s Getting Older’ (2012).
Check out all albums that have been Longlisted and Shortlisted for The SAY Award in previous years.
Q: What qualifies as a ‘Scottish’ album?
A: Our full eligibility criteria can be found here. Only albums which meet this criteria can be considered for The SAY Award.
Q: Can you buy tickets to The SAY Award Ceremony?
A: We will be releasing details on tickets for The SAY Award Ceremony in due course.
Q: How do I contact the team at The SAY Award?
A: You can contact us by emailing [email protected] or getting in touch via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
If you are press enquiring about The SAY Award, please email [email protected] / [email protected] for more details.
