Scotland's national music prize; celebrating the cultural impact of outstanding Scottish albums. Learn more at sayaward.com
Produced by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), The SAY Award exists to:
– Enrich Scotland’s cultural identity by recognising, rewarding and championing the strength and diversity of Scotland’s recorded output; past, present and future.
– Stimulate a national focus on music by providing an annual focal point to celebrate it; driving audiences, instilling civic pride and increasing cul
tural confidence.
– Inspire the listening, learning, playing and creation of music, especially by young people, to ensure the continued vibrancy of Scottish music both now and in the future.
– Enhance the profile, reputation and credibility of Scotland’s artists and music industry; both domestically and internationally.
..in order to strengthen and increase the value of Scotland’s music industry on the world stage: economically, socially and culturally. Placing artistic merit before sales history, genre or record label affiliation, The SAY Award dispenses with categorisation, opting instead for the creation of a bold, unifying platform from which Scotland’s most outstanding albums – across all genres – can be celebrated, discovered and championed. With previous Longlist titles featuring hip-hop, rock, alternative, traditional, folk, classical, dubstep, reggae, pop and jazz, The SAY Award accommodates Scottish music in all its influential, inspiring and idiosyncratic glory. Wielding a £20,000 prize for the winner, 9 runner-up prizes of £1,000 each and a design commission which highlights the enduring links between music, art and design in Scotland, The SAY Award is respected by artists, valued by the industry and is responsible for both a surge in musical discovery and an explosion of impassioned debate on social media.
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Our Story
Since its inauguration in 2012, The SAY Award has grown to become Scotland’s most popular and prestigious music prize.
Wielding a £20,000 prize for the winner, 9 runner-up prizes of £1,000 each and a design commission which highlights the enduring links between music, art and design in Scotland, The SAY Award is respected by artists, valued by the industry and is responsible for both a surge in musical discovery and an explosion of impassioned debate on social media. Placing artistic merit before sales history, genre or record label affiliation, The SAY Award dispenses with categorisation, opting instead for the creation of a bold, unifying platform from which Scotland’s most outstanding albums – across all genres – can be celebrated, discovered and championed.
With previous Longlist titles featuring hip-hop, rock, alternative, traditional, folk, classical, dubstep, reggae, pop and jazz, The SAY Award accommodates Scottish music in all its influential, inspiring and idiosyncratic glory. From mainstream platinum sellers to self-released left-field debut records, The SAY Award has illuminated Scotland’s music scene with the ambition, credibility and commitment our artists’ endeavours so richly deserve.
The SAY Award is a Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) production, delivered in 2020 in partnership with Creative Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council, YouTube Music, Sweetdram, 54EP, PPL, Ticketmaster and Summerhall, with Music Declares Emergency being the award’s Charity Partner.
As we all try to navigate new challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The SAY Award campaign will go digital in 2020. In line with Government guidelines and with audience and artists’ safety at the forefront, The SAY Award's live events will move online this year, meaning music fans across the country will have the chance to be part of the traditionally exclusive final award ceremony.
All over the world, the music industry is striving to ascertain how to operate in this new normal, as the ramifications of the massive economic and cultural impacts continue to be felt. The SAY Award is committed to providing Scottish artists and music fans with an inspiring campaign which embodies the passion and resolute nature of Scotland's ever evolving music scene.
The albums celebrated by The SAY Award, spanning all genres and sounds, are the stories of Scotland’s people. At this time of crisis, when much of our culture is confined to our borders, it is more important than ever before to shine a light on the incredible talent Scotland has to offer. With international opportunities and visibility for Scottish music significantly limited at present, this year The SAY Award will feature Judges from four selected international territories for the first time in the award’s history; building upon and maintaining vital and valued international links for Scottish music.
It is without doubt that the past few months of lockdown have created significant challenges at all levels within the music industry, however, the resilience and determination of the musical community within Scotland has proven that music truly has no boundaries, as The SAY Award brings people together to celebrate the passion, value and diversity of Scottish music in 2020.
The Process
Once all eligible albums have been collated, 100 impartial ‘Nominators’, chosen from sectors including journalism, broadcast and radio, music retail and live music venues, will consider the titles from The SAY Award’s Eligible Albums list, nominating their five favourite albums and ranking them in order of preference. ‘Nominators’ include specialists in a variety of genres, such as jazz, classical, hip-hop, electronic and traditional folk, as well as key influencers from elsewhere in the arts, and cannot have a commercial interest in any of the albums being discussed. The SMIA assigns a score to each title in a Nominator’s Top 5 (#1 – 10 points, #2 – 8 points, #3 – 6 points etc.), before announcing the 20 highest scoring albums as The SAY Award Longlist.
The Longlist is then whittled down to a Shortlist of 10 albums, one of which will be chosen by music fans via a 72-hour online public vote and the others decided by The SAY Award judging panel.
Previous SAY Award 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.
The SAY Award ceremony will be broadcast on Thursday 29 October 2020, with more details to be announced. The winning artist will pick up a £20,000 cash prize, with the 9 runners up each being awarded £1,000. Each Shortlisted artist will also receive an exclusively designed piece of artwork from The SAY Award Design Commission.
