WAM was originally formed as the Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Inc. (WARMIA) in 1985, with its main aim to develop and run annual awards recognising achievements within the music industry in Western Australia. WAM first received project funding from the state government in 1989, and in the early 90s the word "rock" was dropped from the title to give the organisation scope to take on a broader constituency. In 1989 the inaugural WA Song Contest commenced, in 2002 it was rebranded as the WAM Song of the Year. The WAM Song of the Year is open to all residents of Western Australia. The song must be the original work of the songwriter(s). Songwriters with a publishing deal can only enter the Professional category.

Winners

1985–1988

1989–2002

2003

In 2003 there were 1,247 entries and 75 shortlisted nominees in the 15 genre categories. Winners each received $1,000 (Children & Youth winners received $500) and a days recording time at a top Perth studio. The Grand Prize winner received the opportunity to have a promotional single recorded, pressed and released among other select opportunities. The individual category award winners were:

2004

The WAM Song of the Year for 2004 was announced at the Fly by Night Club in Fremantle on Thursday 16 September 2004. The evening featured performances from past winners including Andrew Horabin and Lynn Hazelton, as well as finalists for the 2005 competition. The WAM Song of the Year was presented by the Minister for the Arts the Hon. Sheila McHale. There was over 1,300 songs entered in the competition with 75 works nominated by the industry panels as finalists in the 15 genre categories. The individual category award winners were:

2005

The WAM Song of the Year for 2005 was announced at the Fly By Night Club in Fremantle on Thursday 27 October 2005. The evening featured performances from past winners including Andrew Horabin and Lynn Hazelton, as well as finalists for the 2005 competition. Performing on the night were The Bank Holidays, Lake of Bass, New Rules For Boats, Peter Brandy, The Flairz and the 2004 Song of the Year winner, Lauren Brede. The WAM Song of the Year was presented by the Minister for the Arts the Hon. Sheila McHale. There were close to 1,500 songs entered in the competition with 86 works nominated by the industry panels as finalists in the 17 genre categories. The individual category award winners were:

2006

The WAM Song of the Year for 2006 was announced on Thursday 19 October 2006 at the Fly By Night Club in Fremantle with awards in 17 different categories. Performing on the night were Kavyen Temperley from Eskimo Joe, The Panda Band, Abbe May and The Rockin' Pneumonia, One Horse Town, the Catherine Noblet Quartet and The Watts. Presenters from Xpress Magazine, The West Australian, RTRFM, ABC Radio, Nova 93.7, Drum Media, Network 10, APRA, Perth International Arts Festival and Minister for the Arts, the Honorable Sheila McHale announced the winners. The winners of most categories were awarded $1,000 cash and 1 day of recording time in a leading Perth studio. The winner of the Grand Prize received an additional 3 days recording time with producer Rob Grant at Poons Head Studios and the pressing of 500 promotional singles/EPs through Westlink Multimedia/MGM. The individual category award winners were:

2007

The 2007 WAM Song of the Year was announced at the Fly By Night in Fremantle, on Wednesday 31 October 2007. There were eighteen category winners and included for the first year a professional category where published Western Australian based songwriters are given the chance to enter their works in WA's premier song writing Awards. The individual category award winners were:

2008

The 2008 WAM Song of the Year was announced at the Fly By Night in Fremantle, on Thursday 9 October 2008. The 85 nominees in 17 categories were announced on Monday 22 September. The Grand Prize for the WAM Song of the Year 2008 included a cash prize of $5,000, together with a 3-day recording session at Poons Head Recording Studio and 500 CDs by DiskBank. For the first time, the public were invited to listen to and vote for a nominee in the Most Popular Song category. Public voting was later cancelled after claims of technical issues allowing multiple votes, it was replaced by judging by Sunday Times and PerthNOW entertainment staff. The professional category was also cancelled due to lack of numbers. Over 400 songwriters from throughout Western Australia submitted 1640 songs, the second highest number of entries received in the competition's 19-year history. The 18 award winners were: 2008 Grand Prize As judged by an independent industry panel from all category winners. 2008 Most Popular Song As judged by The Sunday Times and PerthNOW entertainment staff from all nominated songs.

2009

The 2009 WAM Song of the Year was announced at the Fly By Night Musicians' Club in Fremantle. The sixteen award winners were: 2009 Grand Prize 2009 Popular Vote

2010

The 2010 WAM Song of the Year was announced at the Fly By Night Musicians' Club in Fremantle. The sixteen award winners were: 2010 Grand Prize 2010 Popular Song

2011

2011 WAM Song of the Year was announced by Russell Woolf (Presenter Weather & 720 ABC Perth Drive program), at the Fly By Night Musicians' Club. The sixteen award winners were: 2011 Grand Prize

2012

2012 WAM Song of the Year was hosted by Darren de Mello from 96FM at the Fly By Night Musicians Club. Rainy Day Women took out the Grand Prize. Performances included Kucka, Yabu Band, Timothy Nelson & amp; The Infidels, and Boom! Bap! Pow! The sixteen award winners were: 2012 Grand Prize

2013

2013 WAM Song of the Year was held at Fly By Night Musicians Club in February 2013. Taking out the Grand Prize, producer Mathas, was awarded the Grand Prize for his song "Nourishment" (also featuring Abbe May). Performances on the night included Rainy Day Women, The Ghost Hotel, Ylem & Deas and Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics. The sixteen award winners were: 2013 Grand Prize

2014

2014 WAM Song of the Year was held at the B Shed warehouse in Fremantle, with Kučka taking out the Grand Prize.Performances on the night included: Methyl Ethel and Grace Barbé, plus Lilt and DJ John Safari. The category winners were: 2014 Grand Prize

2015 / 2016

The 2015 / 2016 WAM Song of the Year was held on 9 April 2016. Beni Bjah became the first ever Indigenous artist to take the top honours. The category winners were: 2015/16 Grand Prize

2016 / 2017

The 2016 / 2017 WAM Song of the Year was held on 17 May 2017. The category winners were: 2016/17 Grand Prize

2017 / 2018

The 2017 / 2018 WAM Song of the Year was held on 16 May 2018 at Fly By Night Musicians Club in Fremantle. The category winners were: 2017/18 Grand Prize

2018 / 2019

The 2018 / 2019 WAM Song of the Year was held on 26 June 2019. The category winners were: 2018/19 Grand Prize

2020

The 2020 WAM Song of the Year was held on 29 July 2020. Taking out the overall Grand Prize win for the second year in a row was Albany born singer-songwriter Carla Geneve with her song, "2001". The category winners were: 2020 Grand Prize

2021

The 2021 WAM Song of the Year was held on 22 September 2021. The category winners were: 2021 Grand Prize

2022

The 2022 ceremony was staged at Freo.Social on 21 September 2022 2022 Grand Prize

2023

The 2023 ceremony was staged at Freo.Social on 20 June 2023 2023 Grand Prize

2024

The 2024 ceremony was staged at Freo.Social on 19 June 2024 2024 Grand Prize