NI Music Prize 2021 to take place on Wednesday 17th November

The submission process for Best Album and Single at the NI Music Prize 2021 is now open!

It has been the toughest year for music, but there has been no shortage of incredible releases and creativity. Outstanding music has been released, music that kept us going, inspired us, entertained us, brought us escapism and most of all hope. That is why despite all of the challenges that our music community has faced in the last year, we – at the NI Music Prize HQ – are delighted to announce that we will be proceeding with plans for 2021.

The NI Music Prize 2021 will take place on Wednesday 17th November 2021. We are working on how we might present the event and more details will be announced soon. For now we are very pleased to announce that the submission process is open from Monday 5th July – Monday 26th July. Please read the full details below and if you feel you are eligible, submit using the links below.

Any eligible NI single or album must have been released between 15th July 2020 – 14th July 2021

The submission process is via a short form that managers, labels, fans or artists can use to submit an eligible album or single for consideration. When the submission process closes, we will not be able to include any more releases.

Once the full list of submissions has been assessed for eligibility, the list will be released publicly as the ELIGIBLE list. This will be the full list of eligible releases that were either gathered by our team through research, that we were aware of, or sent, along with any that were submitted for consideration through the open process. The submission process is to ensure we capture as many releases as possible.

The second list, which is the LONG LIST, will be published after the first stage of nominations is complete.

The third list is the SHORT LIST. This is the 6 singles and 12 albums that received the highest score/most votes. This list will then be considered for the overall prize in the Best Single and Best Album category.

Once all eligible albums/singles have been collated, ‘Nominators’, chosen from sectors including music journalism (print and online), radio broadcasters and shows, podcasts, bloggers, programmers, music retail, promoters, live music venues, as well as key influencers from elsewhere in the arts, will be invited to consider the titles from NI Music Prize eligible albums/singles list and to then nominate five albums and three singles each from the list.

When the first stage of nominations are in, the long list will be published on the NI Music Prize website. A second round of votes from the long list will then return the shortlist.

That being:

• The twelve albums with the highest score/nominations from the long list become the ‘shortlist’.
• The six singles with the highest score/most nominations from the long list becomes the ‘shortlist’.
• The album winner will be decided by a panel in November 2021. All winners will be announced on the night of the awards on 17th November 2021.

1. Albums and/or Singles must have been released between 15th July 2020 – 14th July 2021.

2. Albums/Singles must consist of previously unreleased material. Album re-issues, multi-artist compilations, ‘Best Of’ collections, EPs and live albums (largely featuring previously released material) are ineligible. Albums must be six or more tracks and/or over 30 minutes in length. All genres of music are eligible for the NI Music Prize.

3. We will only accept ONE Album from the same act for submission. An album must have had a digital release and have been made available for purchase in Northern Ireland by the general public for the first time during the qualifying period through any of the following outlets: any high street music retailer; digital retailer, record label or artist website (including Bandcamp, social media etc.) Free downloads (with the artist’s express consent) will also be eligible. We cannot accept physical only releases; a digital online version must be available.

4. We will only accept ONE Single from the same act for submission. The single must have had a digital release and have been made available for purchase in Northern Ireland by the general public for the first time during the qualifying period through any of the following outlets: any high street music retailer; digital retailer, record label or artist website (including Bandcamp, social media etc.) Free downloads (with the artist’s express consent) will also be eligible. We cannot accept physical only releases; a digital online version must be available.

5. If more than one album or single by the same artist is submitted for consideration by different people, the artists 1st preference will be the one that will be put forward for consideration.

6. For an entry to be eligible you MUST provide a link to demonstrate its official release as an Album/Single (Evidence can be a link to press coverage, website/social media/press announcement or online review for example.

7. For the purposes of this award, albums/singles will be deemed to have been recorded by a “Northern Irish Artist” when: the artist was born in Northern Ireland; at least 50% of the band’s core members were born in NI (session musicians will not be considered); an artist or band, irrespective of nationality, has made their creative base in NI for the past two years.

If you feel you are ready and eligible then please use the links below to submit your entries. Good luck!

Submit ALBUM – HERE

Submit SINGLE – HERE 

Full details are available on the NI Music Prize website: https://nimusicprize.com/