The SAY Award

The SAY Award 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 cultural 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.

The Scottish Album of the Year Award Longlist 2026 has landed 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Admiral Fallow ‘First Of The Birds’Andrew Wasylyk ‘...
24/09/2026

The Scottish Album of the Year Award Longlist 2026 has landed 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Admiral Fallow ‘First Of The Birds’
Andrew Wasylyk ‘Irreparable Parables’
Barry Can’t Swim ‘Loner’
Biffy Clyro ‘Futique’
Boards Of Canada ‘Inferno’
Brìghde Chaimbeul ‘Sunwise’
Brògeal ‘Tuesday Paper Club’
Emma Po***ck ‘Begging The Night To Take Hold’
Fergus McCreadie - Pianist ‘The Shieling’
Heir of The Cursed ‘Heir of the Cursed’
Hen Hoose Collective ‘The Twelve’
Michael McGovern ‘Thin White Road’
Pippa Blundell ‘common thread’
Sian ‘araon’
Sonedo ‘From Here On Out’
Swim School ‘Swim School’
The Twilight Sad ‘IT'S THE LONG GOODBYE
Vagrant Real Estate ‘Neither Collar Nor Crown’
Valtos ‘The Last Light’
VLURE ‘ESCALATE’

Congratulations to our Longlist of twenty outstanding Scottish albums 👏 Explore this year’s Longlist at sayaward.com

23/09/2026

Loading your Longlist 🥳

Tune in Thursday 24th September @ 21:30 on socials to find out who's on your Scottish Album of the Year Longlist 2026

23/09/2026

ONE DAY TO GO!

The SAY Award Longlist 2026 will be announced this Thursday @ 21:30. Join us on our socials for the announcement.

22/09/2026

TWO DAYS TO GO! The SAY Award Longlist 2026 will be announced this Thursday @ 21:30.

Join us on our socials for the announcement

Mark your calendars – the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award Longlist announcement will take place on our social cha...
21/09/2026

Mark your calendars – the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award Longlist announcement will take place on our social channels on Thursday 24th September @ 21:30.

Which albums do you want to see on this year's Longlist?

We love our SAY community! We will see you in Dundee on 5th November for the most exciting night in Scotland's music cal...
14/09/2026

We love our SAY community!

We will see you in Dundee on 5th November for the most exciting night in Scotland's music calendar! Be at this year's Ceremony + grab your tickets now at sayaward.com

The year is 2012. Gig check ins were very important and nobody could get enough of skinny jeans. What's your favourite 2...
07/09/2026

The year is 2012. Gig check ins were very important and nobody could get enough of skinny jeans.

What's your favourite 2012 Scottish music memory?🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

05/09/2026

In just two months time we'll be in Dundee celebrating The Scottish Album of the Year 2026 😎

Don't miss it, join us for an evening of live music and live award announcements on Thursday 5th November 2026. Tickets in our bio.

As the summer festivals come to an end we're looking ahead to our very full gig calendar. We're especially excited for T...
03/09/2026

As the summer festivals come to an end we're looking ahead to our very full gig calendar. We're especially excited for The SAY Award Ceremony on 5th November in Dundee's Caird Hall.

What's your top Scottish gig venue?

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