Ecca Vandal Wins the 2026 Australian Music Prize
Ecca Vandal has won the 22nd Australian Music Prize and its A$50,000 (Australian dollars) grand prize for her second album, Looking for People to Unfollow. Billboard reported the win on 5 November 2026.
The album was released through Loma Vista Recordings, the record label that puts out and promotes an artist's music. The prize itself is sponsored by SoundMerch, and it honours albums by Australian artists. Billboard reports that the judges assess albums on artistic merit rather than on how well they sell, so a record does not need big sales to be in the running.
The prize is also described on its official website as peer-voted, a term for awards decided by votes from fellow people in the music world. The Australian Music Prize website says the shortlist of nine albums was announced on 15 October. It also says the judging process began with 50 nominees before it was narrowed down.
The shortlist included albums by Genesis Owusu, Grace Cummings, Julia Jacklin and Karnivool. Each was an album, or LP (long-playing record), that had made it through the earlier rounds.
The prize started in 2005. It was modelled on the Mercury Prize, the UK award for albums, and it has been running for two decades.
For artists and labels already planning their next release, the 23rd prize is now open for entries. It covers Australian albums released between 1 October 2026 and 30 September 2027, according to the prize website. Any album released in that window can be considered, which gives the next round a clear timetable.
The win is a reminder that many awards do not measure sales at all. The prize judges albums as complete works, and the winner walks away with a sum of money that is paid out in full to the artist.
