The Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA) is an annual celebration of the best in new Scottish music, placing a spotlight on phenomenal bands and artists across a colourful genre spectrum. Last year’s ceremony at Saint Luke’s in Glasgow marked the 10th anniversary of the awards. As they head into their 11th year, the SAMA will be moving online for the first time.
The virtual ceremony, due to take place on Wednesday 18th November, will include live sets from two Scottish acts and will be free to stream worldwide, with registrations opening in November. Previous winners of the awards include Lewis Capaldi, Be Charlotte and The Ninth Wave, and the likes of Blanck Mass, Heir of the Cursed, C Duncan, Kathryn Joseph, Andrew Wasylyk and Ela Orleans have all performed at SAMA events in years past.
In addition to the announcement of the 2020 awards, the SAMA are pleased to be one of the 25 new UK signatories of the Keychange Pledge, confirming their commitment to gender equality across all aspects of their work. As well as having 50/50 representation amongst the award nominators this year, the SAMA will follow this principle in their booking policy and in the make-up of the team who work on the event.
The seven SAMA categories exist to showcase the skill, technique and expertise that exist within Scotland’s music community, as well as the sheer scale of ideas and voices on offer. The seven categories are:
Best Rock/Alternative in association with Rock Rose Gin
Best Live Act in association with Musicians Union
Best Newcomer in association with The Academy of Music & Sound
Best Hip Hop in association with Help Musicians UK
Best Metal in association with Hard Rock Café Glasgow
Best Electronic in association with citizenM
Best Acoustic in association with BTO BeCreative
To be eligible for the 2020 awards, artists should be aged 16 or over, with at least one member based in Scotland. They must have released music (in physical or digital format) between September 2019 and September 2020 and they must also be appropriate for the specific category they are being nominated for. In order to be accessible to the public, they should have a relevant social media profile or website. Due to COVID-19, artists who have been hosting innovative, high quality live streams will be eligible for the Best Live Act award.
Each of the awards categories will have three specialist nominators who work across the music industry, from journalists to radio producers and event promoters. The groups of nominators will work together using the specific criteria to select four acts which will make up the shortlist. This decision will be made solely on the quality of the music and not commercial success. A short public vote will then take place in November over three days, with the winners revealed live at the virtual ceremony on Wednesday 18th November.
The 21 nominators are carefully selected and include organisations as well as artists, with a full list of nominators available to view on the official SAMA website. With such a diverse range of individuals involved in the process, the awards offer an insight into the huge variety that exists within the Scottish music scene itself and how the music community has banded together, remaining strong and innovative for audiences despite the effects of COVID-19.
Creative Director, Richy Muirhead, said:
I am delighted the SAMA are returning for the 11th edition. This year has been an incredibly challenging time for the arts. At the same time it has been so refreshing to see artists continue to write and release music from across Scotland during the lockdown. The awards are a platform to ignite some positivity, encourage music discovery, and take a wide look at many of the innovative artists across genres. Not hosting this in a packed out room in Glasgow will be strange but we are working behind the scenes to deliver something just as special!
Run in partnership with Creative Scotland, Drygate Brewing, Help Musicians, Musicians Union and more, the SAMA are a chance for the Scottish music community – both industry professionals and music fans – to come together for a night of festivities, and this year will be no different.