With only one week to go before its submission window opens, The Scottish Album Of The Year (SAY) Award has confirmed that this year’s ceremony will take place on Thursday 6 November at Caird Hall, Dundee, where the winner of the coveted £20,000 prize will be unveiled. The event will take place in Scotland’s sunniest city for the next three years, in a move away from Stirling’s Albert Halls where it has been held since 2021. 

The SAY Award has cemented itself as the Scottish equivalent to the Mercury prize since it was founded 14 years ago, celebrating the past, present and future of the country’s music scene. Previous winners include rEDOLENT, Young Fathers, Kathryn Joseph, Mogwai, Anna Meredith, Fergus McCreadie and more, with the The SAY Award having distributed more than £390,000 in prize money to Scottish artists since its inception. Albums released in the past 12 months, which can be submitted for consideration this year, include records from Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, TAAHLIAH, Nina Nesbitt, Erland Cooper, Be Charlotte, Twin Atlantic, corto.alto, Tide Lines, Sacred Paws and many more. 

Artists, music fans, record labels and more will be encouraged to submit eligible albums for free from Tuesday 1 July, to be in with a chance of winning the award. To be considered for 2025’s award, eligible albums must have been released between Saturday 1 June 2024 and Saturday 31 May 2025 and meet The SAY Award’s eligibility criteria.  

As well as the main award, The Modern Scottish Classic Award will celebrate an album of the past, with previous winners including Paolo Nutini and Martyn Bennett. Meanwhile, the Sound Of Young Scotland Award – supported by Help Musicians, the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative through Creative Scotland and Youth Music – will provide a young and emerging artist with a funding package to support the creation of their debut album, including manufacturing support from Seabass Vinyl, Scotland’s first vinyl pressing plant. 

Once all eligible albums have been collated for The SAY Award, 100 impartial ‘nominators’, chosen from sectors including journalism, music retail and music venues across Scotland, will nominate and rank their five favourite albums in order of preference. The SMIA assigns a score to each title in a Nominator’s Top Five, before announcing the 20 highest scoring albums as The SAY Award Longlist.

The Longlist is then whittled down to a Shortlist of ten 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, before judges then choose the winning album, exclusively announced at the 2025 ceremony. 

Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and creative director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: ‘Following three incredible years hosting Scotland’s national music prize at Stirling’s Albert Halls, the SMIA is both delighted and proud to be calling Dundee’s iconic Caird Hall the new home of The SAY Award.

‘Established in 2012 and originally hosted in Glasgow, we introduced our Host City model in 2016 to broaden The SAY Award’s reach, deepen place-based impact and ensure nation-wide cultural benefit. 

‘Since then, we’ve worked in three-year cycles to move the Ceremony across the country; supporting regional industry development, establishing local partnerships and celebrating the strength and diversity of Scotland’s ever-evolving recorded output in a range of cultural contexts.

‘Dundee has long been a city we’ve aspired to bring SAY to, and now feels like the perfect time to do so. From iconic artists and grassroots music venues to major cultural institutions and a proud DIY spirit, it’s a place where creativity, innovation and collaboration are deeply embedded, and we’re honoured to be adding to its rich musical heritage.

‘Through our partnership with Leisure & Culture Dundee, V&A Dundee, Dundee City Council and UNESCO Dundee City of Design, we’re excited to amplify the city’s creative identity and welcome over 1,500 guests from across Scotland, the wider UK and beyond to our 2025 Ceremony on Thursday 6 November.

‘Early bird tickets are on sale now, with 2024’s SAY Award winners rEDOLENT set to open this year’s show; passing the baton to 2025’s Scottish Album Of The Year Award winner. And with eligible album submissions opening next week, we’re just getting started on what promises to be a landmark year for Scottish music.
‘I hope that many of you can join us as we begin an exciting new chapter, with Dundee at the heart of celebrating, promoting and rewarding outstanding Scottish music.’

SAY Award 2025, Caird Hall, Dundee, Thursday 6 November.