Scottish Album of the Year Award opens for submissions

The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is returning for its 11th year and is opening for submissions from artists and fans.

Organisers say the recovery from the pandemic makes the awards “more crucial than ever”.

This year’s awards ceremony will take place at the Albert Halls in Stirling on October 20.

The winner receives £20,000 while runners-up receive £1,000.

Last year, Mogwai’s As The Love Continues picked up the SAY Award.

Speaking about the win, band member Stuart Braithwaite said: “Winning the SAY Award last year was a huge honour for Mogwai.

“To be recognised by a panel of peers in this way meant the world to us as a band, particularly given the quality of the other musicians on both the longlist and shortlist.

“Scotland continues to produce a plethora of great musicians making outstanding work year on year so for us to win this award is humbling in the extreme.”

Robert Kilpatrick, creative director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: “As we now move into a post-Covid landscape, the SAY Award’s role in celebrating Scottish music and the cultural contribution of albums proves more crucial than ever.

“Artists and music industry professionals are working hard to recover from the significant impacts of the pandemic, and whilst many challenges are thankfully now behind us, the cultural landscape remains in many ways fractured.

“Creative and business risks are having to be taken, and with many turbulent external factors still at play, resilience, innovation and a sheer determination to highlight the power and value of music is proving fundamental to Scotland’s cultural recovery.”