A2IM Libera Awards Opens Submissions & Nominations — for Best Indie Labels, Artists, Projects
Make your voice heard! If there are artists, labels, and/or the meticulously crafted fruits of their labors you feel deserve recognition, there’s a way to make that known.
Simply take part in the nominations process for the A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) 2014 A2IM Libera Awards (a.ka. The “Libbys”), the third annual celebration of the successes of independent artists and labels.
To get a Libby Award into the hands of your favorite creators — start with a nomination.
According to A2IM, the Libby’s stand alone as the only awards show voted on solely by the independent community. The 2013 Libby’s handed out trophies to the likes of Glassnote Records, Dualtone Music Group, Alabama Shakes, The Lumineers, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Tom Silverman, and many more. See all that went down in 2013 here.
Designed to allow independents to celebrate each another’s achievements, the A2IM Libera Awards were founded by a committee of independent music labels which is chaired by Kill Rock Stars President Portia Sabin. A2IM itself is a not-for-profit trade organization that serves the Independent music community – one that represents 34.5% of the music industry’s market share in the US (and almost 40% of SoundScan digital album sales).
Get your heroes on the Libbys’ radar for 2014, but don’t hesitate: The deadline for submitting nominations is Sunday, February 16th. The awards themselves will take place on June 19th, 2014, presented by Caroline at NYC’s Highline Ballroom.
The list of categories is below as well, plus links that provide simple-as-pie instructions for submitting for each category.
Submissions must be completed on these provided forms and returned via email to Libbys@a2im.org. Happy nominating, and may the bet indie win!
Category: Album of the Year
Category: Label of the Year Award (5 Full-Time Employees or fewer)
Category: Label of the Year Award (6 Full-Time Employees or more worldwide)
Category: Video of the Year
Award: Up and Comer Artist Award, predicting and celebrating the next independent label superstar artist (to qualify artist must have total career sales not exceeding 5000 full length albums or 25,000 tracks – combined – as of the submission deadline date)
Category: Breakthrough Artist of the Year, celebrating the independent label superstar artist who has for the first time commercially released a music project that has exceeded 5000 full length album or 25,000 track sales
Category: Best Sync Usage celebrating the most creative or most impactful use of independent music in a film/tv/ad campaign
Category: Light Bulb Award celebrating the most innovative/creative marketing campaign for a project released by an independent label or artist
Category: Hardest Working Artist of the Year celebrating the independent label artist that worked hardest at their job or was the most instrumental in promoting their music
Category: Best Live Act of the Year celebrating the independent label band/artist that had the best live act
Category: Creative Packaging Award (Physical or Digital) celebrating the best or most creative packaging – including bundled packages, premium offerings or artwork/design packaging
Category: Independent Ally of the Year celebrating the music service provider or partner (including but not limited to physical and digital retailers, media outlets, digital platforms, music supervisors, licensors or marketers) who was most supportive or beneficial to independent labels and artists. Submissions will be pared down to final nominations by panels of independent music experts from media, retail, distribution, marketers, and other strategic music partners. Winners will be selected by voting members of A2IM. Winners will be presented at the A2IM Libera Awards ceremony at Highline Ballroom in NYC on Thursday, June 19th.