Submit for the 22nd Soundmerch Australian Music Prize (2026)

The Sound merch Australian Music Prize recognises the best Australian album of the year, judged on artistic merit alone. Artists, managers, labels, agents or publicists can submit an eligible album for consideration.

To be eligible, the artist must be Australian,and the album must have been commercially released in Australia for the firsttime between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026. Digital-only releases arefine, though proof of release may be requested. The album needs at least 9 tracks, or any number of tracks running to at least 33⅓ minutes.

Albums that at least three judges think maymake the Shortlist will be announced as nominations progressively, from early June through to the Shortlist announcement in October 2026. The Winner is decided by the judging panel within three weeks of the Shortlist being announced, and revealed the same day at the Winner Announcement Event.

Only one submission is needed per album. The Prize specifically asks that fans not submit on an artist's behalf — those submissions are deleted, and nominations are decided by judges listening to the music, not by submission volume.

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Eligible release window: 1 October 2025 – 30 September 2026
Nominations announced: progressively from early June 2026
Shortlist announced: October 2026
Winner announced: within 3 weeks of the Shortlist

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