Search for new Scottish talent as Sound of Young Scotland Award opens applications with prize fund worth £10k

The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award has today opened applications for an award to support new Scottish talent; the Sound of Young Scotland Award.

Emerging Scottish artists can now apply to win a funding package worth over £10,000 to support the creation of their debut album, with the award supported by Help Musicians, Youth Music and the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative through Creative Scotland.

Plus, The SAY Award reveal a record-breaking 437 eligible album submissions and announce that Tiny Changes – Scotland’s young people’s mental health charity – returns as Charity Partner for a second year.

Artists can apply for The Sound of Young Scotland Award for FREE via www.sayaward.com until midnight on Monday August 14.

Introduced by The SAY Award in 2021 to mark 10 years of Scotland’s national music prize and stimulate the future of Scottish music, the Sound of Young Scotland Award provides a young and emerging artist with vital financial support to enable the creation of their debut album. 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 band/group born in Scotland, or have made Scotland their creative base for the past two years).

You can view full eligibility criteria and prize fund details at www.sayaward.com

The Sound of Young Scotland Award winner will be unveiled at the SAY Award Ceremony in Stirling’s Albert Halls on Thursday October 26, alongside the winner of The Scottish Album of the Year Award and the Modern Scottish Classic Award.

Berta Kennedy, 2022 winner of Sound of Young Scotland Award signed with record label Enough Records last year and is currently working on her debut album. Berta said: “Winning The Sound of Young Scotland Award in 2023 was one of the most monumental moments in my career so far - it gave me a whole new platform to showcase my music and the whole experience was massively encouraging.

“It’s so important for young musicians to feel embraced and supported by the Scottish music community and that’s what this award can do for emerging artists. I definitely recommend getting involved.”

Winners of the Sound of Young Scotland Award can expect:

• 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 2024’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
• One-to-one tailored business advice sessions with industry experts, arranged via Help Musicians
• A personal health check-in with the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) covering physical and mental health, arranged via Help Musicians
• A run of up to 500 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’ Recording & Release fund; designed to support artists towards creating their next release and distributing their music. Previous Sound of Young Scotland Award winners include Berta Kennedy (2022) and LVRA (2021), with LVRA’s debut album now in the running for 2023’s SAY Award - testament to the importance of the Sound of Young Scotland’s support of new artists.

A cross-genre judging panel of 11 previous SAY Award nominees will review eligible SYS submissions, whittling applicants down to five artists. The five Sound of Young Scotland finalists will be announced alongside The SAY Award Shortlist, before the judging panel reconvenes to choose the final winner; exclusively announced at The SAY Award Ceremony on Thursday October 26 at Stirling’s Albert Halls.