THE PRESTIGIOUS SCOTTISH MUSIC & ARTS PRIZE RETURNS FOR ITS SECOND YEAR.

Following last year’s successful inauguration of The Scottish Album of the Year [SAY] Award,

the Scottish Music Industry Association [SMIA] is delighted to announce that the prestigious arts

prize is returning for a second year. The SAY Award will celebrate, promote and reward the

most outstanding albums - of any genre - released by Scottish artists in 2012.

The winner will be chosen from a shortlist of ten albums at an award ceremony held in

Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom on Thursday, 20th June. The winning album will once again

receive a first prize of £20,000 with the nine other shortlisted titles picking up £1,000 each. All

ten shortlisted albums will also receive an exclusive artwork created by the winner of this year’s

SAY Art Commission: a prize fund of £20,000 courtesy of Creative Scotland and contested by

eight outstanding graduates from Scotland’s four principal art schools.

Drawing upon the nominations of 100 individuals and organisations from across the arts and

Scotland’s music industry, the twenty highest scoring albums will form The SAY Award Longlist

to be announced on Thursday 25th April. This year’s Nominators included journalists, bloggers,

radio presenters and producers, promoters, retailers, venues, club DJs, festival organisers,

academics and music fans from elsewhere in the arts. Over 270 albums were considered

eligible with more than 135 albums picking up at least one vote from a Nominator.

Following a four-week promotion when the public will have the chance to stream every one of

the twenty longlisted titles, there will be a 24-hour voting window on Monday 27th May when the

public can choose their favourite from the list. The album with the most public votes will secure

an automatic place on The SAY Award Shortlist of 10, with the other nine titles being chosen by

an independent panel of judges.

Chaired once again by Glasgow University academic, John Williamson, The SAY judging panel

this year includes: Douglas Anderson (Author/Broadcaster/Writer), Christopher Brookmyre

(Author), Stewart Cruickshank (Radio Producer), Tom Doyle (Author/Journalist), Douglas

Gordon (Visual Artist), Kate Molleson (Journalist), Joe Muggs (Journalist/A&R), Jude Rogers

(Journalist), Tjinder Singh (Cornershop; Ample Play Records), Rebecca Vasmant (DJ/Producer)

and Sue Wilson (Journalist).

The SMIA is enormously grateful for the continued support of Creative Scotland and welcomes

Dewar’s, music licensing organisation PPL and Clyde Gateway as valued creative partners in

the Award’s development. The SMIA is also delighted to announce a joint media partnership

with The Sunday Herald and The Scotsman to promote the Award.

Stewart Henderson, Chair, SMIA: “In celebrating the album, The SAY Award recognises a

format that continues to affect, inspire and excite us like no other. We should all feel justifiably

proud of Scotland’s capacity to produce extraordinary albums and, with The SAY Award, we

can bring exceptional albums to the public’s attention, value the importance of music and, best

of all, bask in the warm glow of our own magnificence for six weeks: never a bad thing.”

Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative Development: “The SAY Award is a fantastic way

of supporting and raising the profile of Scotland’s talented musicians, of which there are many.

We are delighted to support the Awards and congratulate all the nominees!”

Stephen Marshall, Global Marketing Manager, Dewar's: “I collect records and I love working

in whisky. Why not combine them? The SAY Award is playing a pivotal role in recognising a real

surge of new talent in Scotland and it's important for us at Dewar's that we support the things

we love.”

Christine Geissmar, Operations Director, PPL: "PPL is thrilled to be a partner of The SAY

Award. Scotland has a very vibrant music culture that throws up a huge array of albums from

many different types of performer, across many different musical genres. The SAY Award helps

to promote this wonderful diversity and we’re proud to play a part on behalf of PPL’s many

Scottish members. In addition, we also want to support many of our Scottish customers who

use music as part of their business and encourage everyone to vote for their favourite Scottish

album."

Ian Manson, Chief Executive, Clyde Gateway: "The East End of Glasgow is an area long

associated with great music and has of course been home to one of Scotland's most

internationally renowned record labels for many years. It is entirely fitting that the East End is

now the new home for The SAY Award and I'm delighted such an important and eagerly-

awaited event will help to highlight the very positive and dynamic ways that the area is

changing"

The SAY Art Commission celebrates the enduring links between music and the visual arts.

Eight graduates, two from each of Scotland’s four principal art schools (Duncan of Jordanstone

in Dundee; Edinburgh College of Art; Glasgow School of Art and Gray’s in Aberdeen), receive

£1,000 each and contribute two pieces of work to a group show held in the Intermedia Gallery of

Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA). The winning artist, chosen by an independent

panel of judges, will receive £12,000 and a commission to create ten exclusive artworks as

prizes for this year’s SAY Award shortlisted finalists.

The winner of The SAY Art Commission will be announced live, in tandem with The SAY Award

Shortlist, at an invitation-event in the CCA on Thursday 30th May.

For further information, interviews and photographs:

PRINT | BROADCAST: contact Wendy Niblock | 07961 814834 | wendy@sayaward.com

ONLINE | SOCIAL MEDIA: contact Stacey Walton | 07855 181780 | stacey@sayaward.com

Follow us on Twitter: #sayaward

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. Key dates for your diary

Thursday 25th April:

The SAY Award Longlist Announcement.

Monday 29th April - Sunday 26th May:

Longlist Promotion via SAY Award app and website.

Monday 27th May:

24-hour public vote.

Thursday 30th May (Drinks Reception at the CCA):

The SAY Award Shortlist Announcement

The SAY Art Commission Winner Announcement

Opening of Art Commission Group Show

Thursday 20th June:

Scottish Album of the Year Award Ceremony - Barrowland Ballroom.

2. Award format & eligibility guidelines: http://tinyurl.com/d6usodt

3. Judges Biographies www.sayaward.com/about/judges

4. To see the list of 100 Nominators visit: www.sayaward.com/about/nominators

5. Producer and Partner information

Scottish Music Industry Association www.smia.org.uk

CREATIVE SCOTLAND www.creativescotland.com

Creative Scotland is the national agency for the arts, screen and creative industries.

DEWAR’S http://www.youtube.com/user/dewarswhisky

Founded in 1846 by John Dewar, Dewar’s has grown from a small wine and spirits merchant shop in Scotland, to one of the largest Scotch whisky brands in the world. Best known for its iconic Dewar’s White Label, the top selling Blended Scotch Whisky in the USA, it has expanded its family to create a portfolio of premium & super premium whiskies including Dewar˙s 12 Years Old, Dewar’s 18 Years Old & the exclusive Dewar˙s Signature. These whiskies are crafted using the Dewar˙s double-ageing process. Pioneered by Dewar˙s in 1899, it involves returning the hand-crafted blend to vintage oak casks for further maturation. The result is a smoother taste with a long, lingering finish; an extra step that is simply worth doing. A taste that wins medals and applause, making Dewar’s one of Scotland˙s most awarded whiskies. ENJOY RESPONSIBLY.

PPL www.ppluk.com

PPL is the UK-based music licensing company which licenses recorded music for broadcast, online and public performance use. Established in 1934, PPL carries out this role on behalf of thousands of record company and performer members. In 2011, PPL collected revenue of £153.5m

PPL’s Broadcast and Online licensing covers the use of recorded music on the BBC’s television, radio and iPlayer services and by hundreds of commercial broadcasters. These include ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky, together with services such as Virgin Media and BT Vision. PPL also licenses commercial radio networks such as Capital, Heart and Absolute Radio, online services such as Last FM and community, hospital, student and prison radio stations.

Public Performance licences are issued by PPL to hundreds of thousands of businesses and organisations from all sectors across the UK who play recorded music to their staff or customers and who therefore require a licence by law. These can range from bars, nightclubs, shops and hotels to offices, factories, gyms, schools, universities and local authorities. PPL also licenses

music service providers to copy recorded music for services such as in-store music systems, jukeboxes, fitness compilations and in-flight entertainment systems.

PPL also operates an International service, used by many of its members. Through agreements with over 50 music licensing companies globally, PPL is able to collect licensing revenue from the use of its members’ recorded music around the world. Under these agreements with other music licensing companies, PPL also acts on behalf of its members to license their recordings and pay for their performances in the UK. The international collections market is very competitive, with numerous commercial companies offering similar services, but despite this PPL’s International service continues to grow significantly.

After the deduction of PPL’s running costs, all revenue collected is distributed to members based on the music used by licensees and the extensive information contained in the PPL Repertoire Database. PPL does not retain a profit for its services.

With over 60,000 members, PPL has a large and diverse membership. Members include major record labels and globally successful performers, as well as many independent labels, sole traders and session musicians ranging from orchestral players to percussionists and singers – all of whom are entitled to be fairly paid for the use of their recordings and performances.

PPL’s role and remit increases year on year. The company receives details electronically on a weekly basis for an average of 10,200 new recordings. Once this data has been fed into PPL’s databases, it is then passed on to PRS for Music for it to administer the relevant copying rights on behalf of the songwriters, composers and publishers. PPL also provides that data to the BPI and IFPI (International Federation of Phonographic Industry) to assist with their anti-piracy activities.

CLYDE GATEWAY www.clydegateway.com

CLYDE GATEWAY is Scotland's biggest regeneration project, covering 840 hectares of land in the east end of Glasgow plus Rutherglen and Shawfield in South Lanarkshire. Five years into a 20-year programme, it has already delivered an impressive range of physical, social and economic developments and initiatives which have transformed the lives of local residents and changed the image and outside perception of its communities.

Ends.../