PRIZE FUND WORTH UP TO £10,000 WILL SUPPORT NEW GENERATION OF TALENT PLUS, SAY AWARD REVEAL OVER 300 ALBUM SUBMISSIONS 

Apply now via www.sayaward.com

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A search for new Scottish talent has officially launched with the country’s national music prize, The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, opening applications for The Sound of Young Scotland Award. 

Artists can apply for The Sound of Young Scotland Award for FREE via www.sayaward.com until midnight on Wednesday 21st August. 

The next generation of Scottish talent can apply to win a funding package worth up to £10,000 to support the creation of their debut album, as well as gain the coveted title of the Sound of Young Scotland at this year’s prestigious SAY Award Ceremony in Stirling. The award is supported by Help Musicians, the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative through Creative Scotland and Youth Music, with the aim of stimulating and supporting the future of Scottish music. The package includes; cash grants for studio/production costs, in-kind use of The Tolbooth in Stirling (inc. the studio, venue space for filming etc.), a performance slot at 2025’s SAY Award Ceremony,  250 vinyl pressings of their debut album from Seabass Vinyl and much more. 

Plus, The SAY Award has revealed over 300 eligible albums have been submitted and are now being considered for 2024’s prize. Albums from artists including Mercury Prize nominated Barry Can’t Swim, Siobhan Wilson, The Snuts and more were submitted, with all 300 albums now being considered for Scotland’s national music prize and the £20,000 prize. 

The Sound of Young Scotland Award is now in its fourth year, having supported and championed some of the country’s brightest emerging talent. Previous winners include LVRA (2021), Berta Kennedy (2022) and No Windows (2023). To be eligible for the award, artists must be: 18 – 25, have never released an album and be a ‘Scottish’ artist (born in Scotland, 50% of core members born in Scotland, or have made Scotland their creative base for the past two years). View full eligibility criteria and prize fund conditions at www.sayaward.com 

The Sound of Young Scotland Award winner will be unveiled at the prestigious SAY Award Ceremony in Stirling’s Albert Halls on Thursday 24th October, alongside the winner of TheScottish Album of the Year Award and the Modern Scottish Classic Award. A limited number of early-bird Ceremony tickets are on sale now via www.sayaward.com. 

Morag Macdonald, Youth Music Initiative Manager at Creative Scotland, said: “The Sound of Young Scotland Award is a life-changing opportunity that platforms Scotland’s most exciting young musicians while supporting one act to realise their ambitions of creating a debut album. With support from the Scottish Government, the Youth Music Initiative recognises the value and importance of this award in removing barriers to access for young people in music and take this significant step in progressing their career in music.”

2024’s funding package includes:

• Cash grants totaling £5,500 to go towards activities such as studio hire costs, session musician fees, equipment rentals and more.

• In-kind use of The Tolbooth’s recording studio in Stirling – up to 6 days recording time and 3 days mixing/mastering, or use of venue space for filming and photo requirements

• A performance slot at 2025’s SAY Award ceremony, one of the biggest nights in Scotland’s musical calendar, in front of industry professionals, journalists and music fans

• A bespoke art prize from The SAY Award Design Commission

• 6 hours of one-to-one business advice from industry experts, arranged via Help Musicians

• Online meet-ups with other Help Musicians’ awardees and industry guests, arranged via Help Musicians

• Invites to online peer drop-in spaces with other musicians, arranged via Help Musicians (optional)

• Access to a healthy practice session delivered byBAPAM, arranged via Help Musicians (optional) 

• A run of up to 250 vinyl pressings of the album created via the prize; provided in-kind by Seabass Vinyl, Scotland’s first vinyl pressing plant 

The cash grants provided via The Sound of Young Scotland Award include support directly from:

• Help Musicians’ Next Level Award, designed to support musicians ready to pursue a career-changing opportunity. 

• Youth Music’s NextGen Fund; designed to support early-stage musicians and wider music adjacent creatives to invest in their own projects and make their ideas happen. 

A cross-genre judging panel of 11 previous SAY Award nominees will review eligible Sound of Young Scotland Award submissions, whittling applicants down to five. The five finalists will be announced alongside The SAY Award Shortlist, before the judging panel reconvenes to choose the final winner. 

The Sound of Young Scotland Award is supported by Help Musicians, the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative through Creative Scotland and Youth Music, with the aim of stimulating and supporting the future of Scottish music. Help Musicians is a charity for professional musicians of all genres, giving them the support they need at all stages throughout their career, whilst Youth Music is the country’s leading young people’s music charity, believing that every young person should have the chance to make, learn and earn in music. The Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative is administered by Creative Scotland and aims to provide access to music-making opportunities for children and young people who may not normally have the chance to participate. Together, the three organisations will support the delivery of this year’s Sound of Young Scotland Award; paving the way for future generations of Scottish musicians to thrive and contribute to the country’s world-class recorded output.

The Sound of Young Scotland Award winner will also receive a bespoke prize created by a Stirling-based artist via The SAY Award Design Commission. Expressions of interest for Stirling-based artists are open until Monday 5th August, with local creatives encouraged to design an award with sustainability at its forefront. To enter the Design Commision visit www.sayaward.com/designcommission 

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 and Music Declares Emergency. 

The SAY Award’s charity partner is once again 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).

Early-bird SAY Award Ceremony tickets on sale now via www.sayaward.com 

£18 + booking fee

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