Following last year’s successful inauguration of The Scottish Album of the Year [SAY] Award, the Scottish Music Industry Association [SMIA] is delighted to announce that the prestigious arts prize is returning for a second year. The SAY Award will celebrate, promote and reward the most outstanding albums – of any genre – released by Scottish artists in 2012.

The winner will be chosen from a shortlist of ten albums at an award ceremony held in Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom on Thursday, 20th June. The winning album will once again receive a first prize of £20,000 with the nine other shortlisted titles picking up £1,000 each. All ten shortlisted albums will also receive an exclusive artwork created by the winner of this year’s SAY Art Commission: a prize fund of £20,000 courtesy of Creative Scotland and contested by eight outstanding graduates from Scotland’s four principal art schools.

Drawing upon the nominations of 100 individuals and organisations from across the arts and Scotland’s music industry, the twenty highest scoring albums will form The SAY Award Longlist to be announced on Thursday 25th April. This year’s Nominators included journalists, bloggers, radio presenters and producers, promoters, retailers, venues, club DJs, festival organisers, academics and music fans from elsewhere in the arts. Over 270 albums were considered eligible with more than 135 albums picking up at least one vote from a Nominator.

Following a four-week promotion when the public will have the chance to stream every one of the twenty longlisted titles, there will be a 24-hour voting window on Monday 27th May when the public can choose their favourite from the list. The album with the most public votes will secure an automatic place on The SAY Award Shortlist of 10, with the other nine titles being chosen by an independent panel of judges.

Chaired once again by Glasgow University academic, John Williamson, The SAY judging panel this year includes: Douglas Anderson (Author/Broadcaster/Writer), Christopher Brookmyre (Author), Stewart Cruickshank (Radio Producer), Tom Doyle (Author/Journalist), Douglas Gordon (Turner Prize Winner 1996), Kate Molleson (Journalist), Joe Muggs (Journalist/A&R), Jude Rogers (Journalist), Tjinder Singh (Singer/Songwriter/Producer for Cornershop and Founder of Ample Play Records), Rebecca Vasmant (DJ/Producer) and Sue Wilson (Journalist).

The SMIA is enormously grateful for the continued support of Creative Scotland and welcomes Dewar’s, music licensing organisation PPL and Clyde Gateway as valued creative partners in the Award’s development. The SMIA is also delighted to announce a joint media partnership with The Sunday Herald and The Scotsman to promote the Award.

The SAY Art Commission celebrates the enduring links between music and the visual arts. Eight graduates, two from each of Scotland’s four principal art schools (Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee; Edinburgh College of Art; Glasgow School of Art and Gray’s in Aberdeen), receive £1,000 each and contribute two pieces of work to a group show held in the Intermedia Gallery of Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA). The winning artist, chosen by an independent panel of judges, will receive £12,000 and a commission to create ten exclusive artworks as prizes for this year’s SAY Award shortlisted finalists. The winner of The SAY Art Commission will be announced live, in tandem with The SAY Award Shortlist, at an invitation-event in the CCA on Thursday 30th May.

Source: SMIA