Stream the Longlist at www.sayaward.com
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The SAY Award Longlisted albums for 2024. Images courtesy of the SAY Award.
Scotland’s national music prize, The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, today reveals the 20 outstanding Scottish albums on 2024’s Longlist. Featuring 11 debut albums, previous SAY Award winners, Mercury Prize nominees and an eclectic range of genres, The SAY Award Longlist in alphabetical order is:
- Afterlands We Are the Animals in the Night
- Amy Laurenson Strands
- Arab Strap I'm totally fine with it 👍don't give a fuck anymore 👍
- Barry Can't Swim When Will We Land?
- Becky Sikasa The Writings and the Pictures and the Song
- Bee Asha Goodbye, Gracious
- Blue Rose Code Bright Circumstance
- Broken Chanter Chorus Of Doubt
- corto.alto Bad With Names
- Dead Pony IGNORE THIS
- Empire State Bastard Rivers of Heresy
- Fergus McCreadie Stream
- Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand Willson Williams
- Lucia & The Best Boys Burning Castles
- Malin Lewis Halocline
- Mama Terra The Summoned Rachel Sermanni Dreamer Awake rEDOLENT dinny greet
- The Snuts Millennials
- Theo Bleak Pain
All 20 albums are now in the running for the £20,000 prize and coveted title of Scottish Album of the Year, with the winner set to be unveiled at this year’s Ceremony, taking place on Thursday 24th October at Stirling’s Albert Halls. Buy tickets for The SAY Award Ceremony now via www.sayaward.com.
The SAY Award Longlist is a result of an extraordinary nationwide consultation amongst Scotland’s music and arts communities. 100 impartial ‘Nominators’, chosen from sectors including journalism, music retail and music venues across Scotland, nominate and rank their five favourite eligible albums in order of preference. The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) – who produce the award – assigns a score to each title in a Nominator’s Top 5, with the 20 highest scoring albums forming The SAY Award Longlist.
Whittled down from 370 eligible album submissions, this year’s Longlist showcases talent from across Scotland, from the Central Belt to the Scottish Highlands with artists hailing from Skye, Shetland, Glasgow, Edinburgh and more. The Longlist includes 11 debut albums, two 2024 Mercury Prize nominees, one former SAY Award winner and genres from jazz, traditional, metal and folk.
Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) said, “Each year, The SAY Award provides a bold and unifying platform where Scotland’s most outstanding albums – across all genres – can be celebrated, discovered and championed. On behalf of the SMIA, I’d like to say a massive congratulations to each of this year’s nominees.
“It’s been a really difficult few weeks for Scotland’s cultural sector, coming after a tough few years. The SAY Award Longlist highlights the strength and diversity of Scottish creative talent, and the essential role that our cultural output plays in helping us reflect on who we are as a nation – what we stand for, how we view our place in the world and how we connect with our past, present and future.
“Scottish music not only enriches our identity, but also delivers tangible returns for our economy. In 2018, Scotland’s music industry generated £195 million, and music tourism alone contributed £406 million, funding vital public services across the country. This highlights the significance of music in driving growth and creating jobs, in addition to its invaluable social and cultural contributions.
“The challenges our sector has faced in recent weeks demonstrates the urgent need for sustained and increased investment. Without this, the future of many artists and cultural organisations remains uncertain, and it’s therefore essential that we continue to advocate for the long-term commitment that Scottish culture both needs and deserves.
“Scottish music is the soundtrack and stories of our lives. The SMIA remains firmly committed to the continued value of music and the arts, and I'd like to extend my thanks to our SAY Award partners, whose continued support makes Scotland’s national music prize possible. We look forward to returning to Stirling’s Albert Halls on Thursday 24 October for The SAY Award Ceremony, and I hope that many of you can join us.”
Alan Morrison, Head of Music at Creative Scotland said, “Yet again The SAY Award Longlist is full of surprises, discoveries and albums that became instant favourites. It’s a brilliant snapshot of the ambition and creativity that exists in every music genre in Scotland and a testament to the talent and commitment of the country’s musicians. Creative Scotland, through Scottish Government regular funding to the Scottish Music Industry Association, is proud to support an event that so passionately champions the albums that form the soundtrack to our daily lives.”
Stirling Council leader Cllr Chris Kane said, “The announcement of this terrific Longlist marks the latest exciting milestone ahead of The Scottish Album of the Year Award Ceremony.
“Stirling is home to a vibrant live music scene and a number of the acts to make the Longlist have performed, or have upcoming shows, at our award-winning Tolbooth venue.
“It has been a huge privilege for Stirling to host the most exciting night in Scotland’s musical calendar over the last two years and we’re proud to be welcoming the great and good of Scotland’s music industry back to the magnificent Albert Halls next month as one of the key highlights of our 900th anniversary celebrations.”
The Longlist will now be whittled down to a Shortlist of 10 albums, one of which will be chosen by music fans via a 72-hour online public vote. The remaining nine albums will be chosen by The SAY Award judging panel, with the Shortlist announced on Thursday 3 October. Along with The SAY Award Shortlist Announcement, the five finalists for 2024’s Sound of Young Scotland Award will be exclusively revealed; all in the running to win a funding package worth up to £10,000 to support the creation of a debut album.
One of the most highly anticipated nights in Scotland’s musical calendar, music fans can buy tickets to attend The SAY Award Ceremony, joining an audience of artists, industry professionals, press and cultural tastemakers to celebrate outstanding Scottish music, with a series of special live performances on the night. The SAY Award judging panel will reconvene to select 2024’s Scottish Album of the Year Award winner, exclusively announced at 2024’s ceremony, alongside this year’s Modern Scottish Classic and Sound of Young Scotland winners.
The SAY Award is a Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) production. The SAY Award 2024 is delivered in partnership with Creative Scotland, Stirling Council, Stirling Alive with Culture, Seabass Vinyl, Ticketmaster, Help Musicians, HMV, FOPP, PPL, the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative, Youth Music, Music Declares Emergency and Hotel Colessio (hotel partner for The SAY Award Ceremony)
The SAY Award’s charity partner is Scotland’s national children’s and young people’s mental health charity, Tiny Changes, set up in memory of Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison to help young minds feel better.
Now in its thirteenth year, previous winners of The SAY Award include; Young Fathers ‘Heavy Heavy’ (2023), Fergus McCreadie ‘Forest Floor’ (2022), 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).
SAY Award Ceremony tickets are on sale now via www.sayaward.com. £18 + booking fee.
Background
LONGLIST FACT SHEET
- 11 debuts - incl artists Afterlands, Amy Laurenson, Barry Can’t Swim, corto.alto, Dead Pony, Empire State Bastard, Lucia & The Best Boys, Malin Lewis, Mama Terra, rEDOLENT, Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand
- 1 previous SAY Award winner - Fergus McCreadie
- 2 x Mercury Prize 2024 nominees - Barry Can’t Swim, corto.alto
- Artists from across Scotland including Shetland, Skye, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirlingshire, Aberdeen and more
- Genres including alt-folk, trad, dance and electronic, metal, indie, folk and more
SCOTTISH MUSIC INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (SMIA)
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.
As a Creative Scotland Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO), we work to create and nurture an inclusive membership community which reflects the full spectrum of Scotland’s music industry. We give voice to our membership when speaking to Government, Parliament and development organisations, and we both produce and support projects and programmes that stimulate sustainability, domestic and international growth, development and innovation in Scotland’s music sector. Our services, projects and events are designed to strengthen and increase the value of Scotland’s music industry on the world stage: economically, socially and culturally.
For further information on the SMIA and its services, projects and events please visit www.smia.org.uk.
CREATIVE SCOTLAND
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
Youth Music Initiative
The Youth 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.
Since its establishment in 2007 the programme has distributed over £159 million, transforming music learning facilities for children and young people across the country. You can find out more about the programme on the Creative Scotland website.
STIRLING COUNCIL
Stirling Council serves more than 94,000 residents and a thriving business community in an area that stretches from the scenic Campsie Fells to the vibrant city of Stirling and the outstanding natural landscape of the Trossachs. Stirling is steeped in history and will celebrate its 900th anniversary as a Royal Burgh in 2024. The nation’s most cherished landmarks are found here, including the National Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle, making Stirling alive with history and culture while a growing modern artistic scene nurtures new creative talent.
Equidistant to both Glasgow and Edinburgh, Stirling is ideally situated for business as well as a place to live, work, study and visit. Stirling has a strong reputation as a business and investment location and hosts some of the UK and Europe’s most innovative science and technology businesses, including Codebase, the UK’s largest Technology Incubator.
Stirling Council’s vision is to be a responsive local authority that works positively with employees, partners and communities to deliver on key priorities and ensure the best possible outcomes for everyone who lives in the Stirling area.
SEABASS VINYL
Seabass Vinyl is Scotland’s first vinyl pressing plant. We are an independent, family-owned business, manufacturing records from our factory in East Lothian, with an emphasis on quality and sustainability. We offer fair prices, short production runs and optimised production lead times. Our ambition is to become a valuable partner to the Scottish music industry and our local community.
TICKETMASTER
Ticketmaster is the world’s largest ticket marketplace and the global market leader in live event ticketing products and services. Through official partnerships with thousands of venues, artists, sports teams, festivals, performing arts centres and theatres, Ticketmaster processes 550 million tickets per year across 35+ different countries.
HELP MUSICIANS
Help Musicians is a charity that loves music and for over 100 years has been working hard to make a meaningful difference to the lives of musicians across the UK. It offers a broad range of help to support music creators in times of crisis and opportunity - ensuring musicians across the UK can achieve their creative potential and sustain a career in music.
HMV
HMV, for the fans since 1921. A leading specialist retailer of music, film, pop culture and technology products, with over 100 stores around the UK & Ireland offering a wide selection of new release and catalogue titles
FOPP
PPL
Founded in 1934, PPL is the UK music industry’s collective management organisation (CMO) for performers and recording rightsholders. We licence recorded music in the UK when it is played in public (bars, nightclubs, shops, offices, etc.) or broadcast (BBC, commercial radio, commercial TV, etc.) and we work to ensure that revenue flows back to both our own members and those of our international CMO partners. Our members include both independent and major record companies, together with performers ranging from emerging grassroots artists through to established session musicians and globally renowned artists.
PPL’s public performance licensing is carried out on our behalf by PPL PRS Ltd, the joint venture between PPL and PRS for Music. Through a network of agreements with other CMOs around the world, we also collect performance rights internationally when music is played overseas in public and used on TV, radio and some online streaming services, as well as for private copying. International royalties are an increasingly important revenue stream for performers and recording rightsholders.
In 2023, PPL paid out a record £279.6 million to more than 165,000 performers and recording rightsholders, the highest in the organisation’s 90-year history.
YOUTH MUSIC INITIATIVE
The Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI), administered by Creative Scotland, creates access to high quality music making opportunities, enables young people to achieve their potential in or through music and supports the development of the sector for the benefit of young people. In 2021/22, more than 362,483 children and young people from Scotland’s 32 local authority areas were given free access to music-making experiences.
To find out more about the YMI programme please visit https://www.creativescotland.com/youth-music-initiative.
YOUTH MUSIC
Youth Music is the UK’s leading young people’s music charity.
We believe that every young person should have the chance to make, learn and earn in music.
Yet our research shows that many can’t because of who they are, where they’re from or what they’re going through.
We leverage our insights, investment, and influence to build a national grassroots infrastructure that ensures the future of music is more inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible.
Youth Music is funded thanks to the National Lottery via Arts Council England, players of People's Postcode Lottery and support from partners, fundraisers and donors
MUSIC DECLARES EMERGENCY
Formed by a group of UK based artists and music industry professionals in London in 2019, Music Declares Emergency has now expanded to four continents and works with over 8000 declarers from all sectors and areas of the global music industry, placing music at the heart of conversation and action in relation to the climate emergency.
Our work engages fans with the facts, develops messaging that cuts through the noise, works with artists to use their platforms, and encourages new business practice.
Our ‘No Music On A Dead Planet’ message has been seen by millions and frames a community of music lovers dedicated to working with us and the movement to campaign for systemic change to deliver real action on climate.
www.musicdeclares.net
TINY CHANGES
Tiny Changes is Scotland’s first national young people’s mental health charity. We run projects with young leaders that help young minds feel better. The charity was set up in memory of artist and Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. Through his music and art Scott made tiny changes that had a big impact on people from all walks of life.
We believe that Scotland’s young people deserve great mental health, and we believe in their insight and innovation to make this possible. We exist to nurture the talent of young people to find solutions that work for them.
In four years, we’ve funded 69 innovative mental health ideas - from bubble therapy with refugees to peer-led crisis prevention cafe and d/Deaf youth wellbeing resources - supporting over 4,000 children and young people, with many of them leading change in their communities.
Over the next three years we'll support young people to co-design and lead Tiny Changes projects, while learning as much as we can about our impact. Our two goals are to invest £1 million in young people’s mental health and to support 10,000 children and young people by the end of 2026.
HOTEL COLESSIO
This beautiful Victorian landmark has been magnificently transformed into a contemporary boutique hotel that offers elegance and comfort. Whether you are looking to enjoy an overnight stay, have a drink in our wine bar, or celebrate your wedding day, Hotel Colessio is the ultimate setting.
The hotel is only a stone’s throw from the historic Stirling Castle and is the perfect location for exploring central Scotland as well as your gateway to the Highlands. We look forward to welcoming you.
Media contact
Colette Baptie | [email protected] | 07807 887 527