Big Scary Win $30,000 Australian Album Prize

Big Scary are $30,000 richer this afternoon after their album Not Art took out the The Coopers Amp award.

Announced at a ceremony in Sydney this afternoon, the album joins the likes of Hermitude, The Drones and The Jezabels as previous winners in what is arguably Australia's most prestigious album prize.

Of the win, Tom Iansek said: "It's such a huge encouragement to know that these basic feelings and intuitions of ours do strike a chord with people who listen to and love music."

It beat out eight other records which made this year's shortlist, that select group of nine culled from an extensive long-listing process – which, again, wasn't without controversy.

THE 2013 AMP SHORTLIST

She Beats – Beaches
Not Art – Big Scary
Dream Cave – Cloud Control
The Cold Light Of Day – Dialectrix
King Amongst Many – Horrorshow
Howlin' – Jagwar Ma
In Blood Memory – Jen Cloher
Phoenix – Jimblah
Embracism – Kirin J Callinan

PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE COOPERS AMP

2005: The Drones – Wait Long By The River And The Bodies of You Enemies Will Float By
2006: Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
2007: The Mess Hall – Devils Elbow
2008: Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Primary Colours
2009: Lisa Mitchell – Wonder
2010: Cloud Control – Bliss Release
2011: The Jezabels – Prisoner
2012: Hermitude – HyperParadise