It appears that in order to be nominated for Act of the Year, you must pay for dues. With the exception of a group of fairly young emo-rockers and a Stoughton housewife gone Nashville (though a local staple on the singer-songwriter circuit), most of the nominees are longtime hard-rocking veterans of the local music scene. And in Boston's scene, where the city's loyalty to an artist is achieved through an artist's loyalty to the city, the locals wouldn't want it any other way.