A2IM: American Association of Independent Music

Posted in News by A2IM

Alabama Shakes, M83, The Lumineers Top Artist Nominees for 2nd Annual A2IM LIBBY Awards
ATO Records & Dualtone Music Group Earn Most Label Nominations

A2IM today announces the nominees for the 2nd Annual Libera Awards (The “LIBBYs”), to be held Thursday, June 20 at NYC’s Highline Ballroom, closing out A2IM’s 8th annual Indie Week. The LIBBYs, co-presented by Caroline, celebrate the continually expanding successes of Independent labels and artists – and the services that support them – and are voted on solely by members of the Independent community.

Eligible releases (March 1, 2012 – February 28, 2013) were narrowed down to six nominees per category (or more in the case of a tie) by expert panels including the most knowledgeable tastemakers, programmers, and professional supporters of Independent music. As in the inaugural LIBBYs, which counted Arcade Fire, Glassnote Records, and Daptone among its winners, this year’s nominees exemplify both the diversity of the Independent label community in terms of label sizes, geographic locations, and genres of music they release, as well as the critical and commercial success of Independent labels investing in the creation of music by the artists they love.

2013 Libera Award Nominees:

Independent Album of the Year (sponsored by Spotify)
• ‘Boys & Girls’ – Alabama Shakes (ATO Records)
• ‘Allah-Las’ – Allah-Las (Innovative Leisure)
• ‘Bloom’ – Beach House (Sub Pop)
• ‘Shields’ – Grizzly Bear (Warp Records)
• ‘Celebration Rock’ – Japandroids (Polyvinyl Records)
• ‘The Heist’ – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Macklemore)
• ‘Babel’ – Mumford & Sons (Glassnote Records)
• ‘RED (Deluxe Edition)’ – Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records)
• ‘The Lumineers’ – The Lumineers (Dualtone Music Group)
• ‘Coexist’ – The xx (XL Recordings/Young Turks)

Listen to the Spotify Album of the Year Playlist

Independent Label of the Year Award – 5 employees or less worldwide (sponsored by The Orchard)
• Bar/None Records
• Daptone Records
• Dualtone Music Group
• Frenchkiss Records
• Ghostly International
• Kill Rock Stars
• Third Man Records

Independent Label of the Year Award – 6 employees or more worldwide (sponsored by ADA)
• Anti Records
• ATO Records
• Big Machine Records
• Concord Music Group
• Glassnote Records
• Hopeless Records
• Sub Pop
• XL Recordings

Up and Comer Award (sponsored by eMusic) – 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 Feb. 17, 2013
• Air Dubai (Hopeless Records)
• BOY (Nettwerk)
• LEOGUN (Yamaha Entertainment Group)
• Mikal Cronin (Merge Records)
• MNDR (Ultra Music)
• The Virginmarys (Wind-up Records)

Video of the Year
• “Hold On” – Alabama Shakes (ATO Records)
• “For Baltimore” – All Time Low (Hopeless Records)
• “Dirty Money” – Antibalas (Daptone Records)
• “Kill Your Heroes” – AWOLNATION (Red Bull Records)
• “My Love Is Real” – Divine Fits (Merge Records)
• “Wait” – M83 (Mute)
• “Thrift Shop” – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Macklemore)

Best Sync Usage (sponsored by Getty Images Music) – for the most creative or most impactful use of Independent music in a film/TV/ad campaign
• “Ebb Away” – …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (Century Media/Superball) in Fox Surf by Tim Scanlin
• “Always Alright” – Alabama Shakes (ATO Records) in Silver Linings Playbook by Susan Jacobs
• “Sail” – AWOLNATION (Red Bull Records) in BMW – Feeling Remains campaign (Olympics premiere) by Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners
• “Can’t Win ‘Em All” – Hanni El Khatib (Innovative Leisure) in Audi (Super Bowl Commercial) by Agoraphone
• “Outro” – M83 (Mute/Caroline) in Red Bull “Gives You Wings” commercial by Tonya Puerto/EMI & Red Bull
• “Speaking Japanese” – Shiny Toy Guns (Five Seven Music) in Virgin America ‘Game Changer’ ad campaign
• “Ho Hey” – The Lumineers (Dualtone Music Group) in Bing by Susan Schwartz

Music Supervisor of the Year (sponsored by Silva Screen Music Group) – for the music supervisor/licensing person who was especially supportive of Independent music labels
• Alexandra Patsavas (Chop Shop Music)
• Frankie Pine (Whirly Girl Music)
• Nora Felder (Picture Tunes)
• Randall Poster (Search Party Music/Posterboy Inc.)
• Susan Schwartz (Platinum Rye)
• Thomas Golubic (SuperMusicVision)

Light Bulb Award – celebrating the most innovative/creative marketing campaign by an Independent label or artist
• Alabama Shakes – album release campaign (ATO Records)
• Bear in Heaven – slowed-down album stream (Dead Oceans/Hometapes)
• Mumford & Sons – ‘Stopover’ tour (Glassnote Records)
• M83 – sustained album campaign (Mute)
• Brian Eno – ‘LUX’ listening events (Warp Records)
• Yep Roc – Yep Roc 15 Festival (Yep Roc Records)

Hardest Working Artist of the Year (sponsored by Believe Digital) – celebrating the Independent label band/artist that worked hardest at their job or was the most instrumental in promoting their music
• Allen Stone (ATO Records)
• Bob Mould (Merge Records)
• Brother Ali (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
• Grimes (4AD)
• Jukebox the Ghost (Yep Roc Records)
• Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records)
• The Lumineers (Dualtone Music Group)

Best Live Act of the Year – celebrating the Independent label band/artist that had the best live act
• Alabama Shakes (ATO Records)
• AWOLNATION (Red Bull Records)
• Bloc Party (Frenchkiss Records)
• Delta Spirit (Rounder)
• Hatebreed (Razor & Tie)
• M83 (Mute)
• Matt and Kim (FADER Label)
• Ra Ra Riot (Barsuk)

Creative Packaging Award (sponsored by A to Z Media) – celebrating the best or most creative packaging – including bundled packages, premium offerings, or artwork/design packaging – from an Independent label or artist in the last 12 months
• “Charmer” – Aimee Mann (SuperEgo Records) by Gail Marowitz & Aimee Mann
• “II” – Bad Books (Triple Crown Records) by Brian Manley & Chris Freeman
• “Until the Quiet Comes” – Flying Lotus (Warp Records) by Stephen Serrato with B+
• “12 Bit Blues” – Kid Koala (Ninja Tune) by Eric San
• “The Disintegration Loops” – William Basinski (Temporary Residence Ltd.) by Jeremy deVine
• “Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection” – Woody Guthrie (Smithsonian Folkways) by Fritz Klaetke

21st Century Award – celebrating the service provider or platform that was most beneficial to Independent labels and artists
• Bandzoogle
• Pandora
• PledgeMusic
• Rdio
• Spotify
• YouTube

Jon Salter, GM at ATO Records summed up the expression of pride that the LIBBY Awards are about when he accepted the nominations for his label and artists saying, “To see Indie records topping the charts and competing on a level playing field is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding for ATO and our artists. It’s been incredibly vibrant this year at ATO, and we feel lucky to have achieved such phenomenal results in a really tough climate. Being recognized by A2IM for the LIBBY nominations is an honor, especially during this extraordinary time for the Independent music sector.”

Dualtone’s Paul Roper, upon learning of the LIBBY nominations for The Lumineers and Dualtone Music Group said, “It’s a great honor to be recognized by our Independent community with these nominations. As evidenced by the recent GRAMMY Awards and reports on market share, Indies are thriving now more than ever. We are extremely proud to have been able to contribute to that story.”

“It is an honor and a privilege to be nominated for the A2IM Light Bulb Award on behalf of all the great Yep Roc Artists who made having the festival possible in the first place,” said Billy Maupin, General Manager of Yep Roc Records. “And knowing that the nominations come from our peers in the Independent music community makes it that much more special and meaningful.”

Hopeless Records said of their three nominations, “What great news! We here at Hopeless Records are big supporters of A2IM and it is an honor to be nominated for Best Label, Video of the Year (All Time Low) and Up & Comer (Air Dubai). Vote for us!”

Hardest Working Artist nominee Jukebox The Ghost (Yep Roc Records) expressed their appreciation (from the road, of course), “Thanks to everyone who nominated us for this. We have met countless hardworking and talented artists, bands, promoters, and labels through years of doing this, so it feels quite special to be recognized among such a passionate community.”

“We at Pandora are particularly proud to receive this nomination,” echoed Tim Westergren, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Pandora. “Since its inception, Pandora has been singularly focused on helping artists connect with their audiences. Personalized radio is a phenomenal resource for Independent musicians, drawing on a huge breadth of catalogue without regard to popularity. In a given month, Pandora plays the music of well over 100,000 artists, the vast majority of whom have never before been played on radio.”

And Daniel Glass, CEO of Glassnote Records, who has spent the better part of the last year seeing his vision and the passion and efforts of his artists and team being acknowledged from music fans, GRAMMY voters, and across the industry affirmed his Independent pride in accepting his three nominations exclaiming, “Huge! Thank you. We are so proud.”

In addition to the above twelve categories, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced shortly; voting on all awards will be open to A2IM voting members from April 25 to May 19.

Additionally, the A2IM Libera Award for “Up & Comer Artist presented by eMusic” will be determined by an eMusic member vote, giving music fans the opportunity to choose the next breakthrough Independent artist.

A2IM thanks Caroline, ADA, A to Z Media, Bandzoogle, Believe Digital, eMusic, Getty Images Music, Silva Screen Music Group, Spotify, and The Orchard for their sponsorship of the 2013 Libera Awards.

The 2nd Annual Libera Awards conclude A2IM’s 8th Anniversary Indie Week (June 18-20 in NYC), which will bring together more than 500 executives from around the globe for three days of interactive panels, think tanks, and one-on-one discussions on maximizing the global impact of Independent music.

Posted in News, Press Releases by A2IM

Independent label Grammy successes continued with 36 wins at the 55^th Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Album wins in 18 categories. Mumford & Sons’ win for Album of the Year (Glassnote) is the fifth consecutive trophy for indies in the category, following Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Concord/Rounder), Taylor Swift (Big Machine), Arcade Fire (Merge), and Adele (who is signed to and marketed by Beggars/XL outside of the U.S.). Below is A2IM’s Grammy Press Release.

Mumford & Sons log 5th consecutive Album of the Year for Indies

2013 marked another strong night for independents at the Grammy Awards, taking 36 of 79 non-producer categories, including Album of the Year and Best Album wins in 18 categories. Mumford & Sons’ win for Album of the Year (Glassnote) is the fifth consecutive trophy for indies in the category, following Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Concord/Rounder), Taylor Swift (Big Machine), Arcade Fire (Merge), and Adele (who is signed to and marketed by Beggars/XL outside of the U.S.).

Glassnote founder/owner Daniel Glass noted “I’m beyond thrilled and grateful to the band, the independent community that we’re so proudly a part of, to indie retail and the fans that have been a part of this effort.  What can I say about Mumford & Sons?  They’re a joy, a privilege to work with…I can’t even call it work.  And my Glassnote team, I can’t thank them enough for all they’ve done in helping build this tremendous achievement.  On behalf of all indies, I thank the Grammy voters for embracing great music and great artists…this is truly part of an independent movement and we’re only just beginning.”

Leading all independent labels, Concord Music Group artists took home eight Grammy Awards. Concord President Glen Barros couldn’t be more pleased sending this message, “I’m so happy that I want to give everyone Kisses On The Bottom…along with all our other Grammy winning and nominated albums.  I’m so grateful to work with such amazing artists and one of the best teams in the business.”

Said Naxos USA CEO Jim Selby (six non-producer awards): ”I would like to congratulate all of the artists, engineers, and producers who helped create these wonderful recordings. Their dedication, excellence and imagination allows all of us to enjoy this amazing music. All of these projects were created by vibrant independent classical labels, proving yet again how important the ‘indie’ labels and classical music are to each other.”

This year marked the third consecutive year that independent labels and artists led the industry with 50% of all nominations, earning 210 of 393 non-producer nominations.

Billboard’s Item is HERE. In addition prior to the Grammy’s Rich Bengloff was quoted in an AP news item on Huffington Post thanking The Recording Academy for its inclusiveness in the Grammy process.

Posted in News by A2IM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2012

With today’s 1.21 million copy‐selling, chart‐topping debut of Taylor Swift’s ‘Red,’independent music labels have now owned the #1 slot on the Billboard 200 for a record‐setting five consecutive weeks, with what are easily the year’s three biggest‐selling debuts.

Rich Bengloff, President of A2IM, the American Association of Independent Music, calls it a tipping point: “This is a thrilling moment for artists signed to and promoted by independent music labels, and it’s happening during the most competitive season of the year. As change accelerates in the music marketplace, it has led to a rise in access for artists directly to their fans and enabled both artists and independent labels to control how their music is produced, distributed and marketed. These results are just the beginning.”

Here are details of the this record‐setting run of Billboard 200 #1s for independent label artists:

October 3 ‐ Mumford & Sons/ ‘Babel’ (Glassnote) debuts with 600K
October 10 ‐ Mumford & Sons/ ‘Babel’ (Glassnote)
October 17 ‐ Mumford & Sons/ ‘Babel’ (Glassnote)
October 24 ‐ Jason Aldean/ ‘Night Train’ (Broken Bow) debuts with 409K
October 31 ‐ Taylor Swift/ ‘Red’ (Big Machine) debuts with 1.21M

[Editors note: The next three highest‐selling albums to date this year are these major label releases – Justin Bieber 'Believe' (374K), Madonna 'MDNA' (359K) and Pink 'The Truth About Love' (280K).]

Independent music is setting more records this busy fall. On October 17, Billboard reported that Mumford & Sons’ ‘Babel’ and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “The Heist” (both independent albums) marked only the second time the top two selling albums on Billboard 200 have been indie releases since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991.Then it happened again the following week with Aldean and Mumford & Sons.

This string of record‐busting independent releases (including A2IM members Glassnote Records and Big Machine) are the latest and clearest signs of how the thriving indie community has turned the market upside down. According to Billboard’s Q3 SoundScan report, Indies hold over 30 percent of the overall market share and outweigh each of the major labels based on master ownership (not distribution).

10/31/12 (UPDATE) NEWSDAY: A2IM’s above Press Release and a quote by Rich Bengloff was picked up in Newsday’s Backstage Pass

11/1/12: (UPDATE) ROLLING STONE: A2IM’s above Press Release was picked up by Rolling Stone Magazine’s Weekly Chart Recap (paragraph three)

About A2IM

A2IM is a not‐for‐profit trade organization serving the Independent music community as a unified voice representing a sector that comprises over 30% of the music industry’s market share in the United States (and almost 40% of SoundScan digital sales). The organization represents the Independents’ interests in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community. A2IM is headquartered in New York City.

The organization’s board of directors is composed of the following: Daptone Records General Manager Cathy Bauer; Sub Pop VP of Business Affairs Eric Brown; Epitaph General Manager Dave Hansen; Yep Roc Records Co‐Owner Tor Hansen; Alligator Records Founder/CEO Bruce Iglauer; The Beggars Group Founder/CEO Martin Mills; Glassnote Records General Manager Chris Scully; Naxos of America CEO Jim Selby; Tommy Boy CEO/Founder Tom Silverman; Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans/Secretly Canadian Founder/Co‐Owner Darius Van Arman; Razor & Tie COO Victor Zaraya.

For more information, or to become a member, please visit a2im.org.

Posted in News by A2IM

Independent music labels have staked their biggest claim of the year on major label territory with Mumford & Sons’ ‘Babel’ (Glassnote Records) debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 this week.  With over 600,000 copies sold, the debut nearly doubles first-week sales from some of music’s biggest major label names this year – Justin Bieber (374,000), Madonna (359,000) and Pink (280,000).

While fourth quarter sales are traditionally dominated by the majors, A2IM member Glassnote Records’ coup with ‘Babel’ – along with high projected debuts for indie artists Jason Aldean (Broken Bow, Oct 16) and Taylor Swift (Big Machine, Oct 22) – are the latest and clearest signs of how the thriving indie community is making significant gains.

Indies also outweigh each of the major labels in overall market share based on master ownership (not distribution).  According to stats from Billboard’s midyear Soundscan report, Independent labels account for 32.9 percent of the entire market, up from 31.2 percent in 2011.

Congratulations again to Glassnote Records!

Posted in News by A2IM

If you weren’t able to attend the A2IM Libera Awards in June or even if you did attend, we hope you’ll enjoy seeing the whole show.  Here is the video shot from the sound booth at Le Poisson Rouge on June 21, 2012.

Posted in News by A2IM

The First Annual A2IM Libera Award Show “The Libbies” was a smashing success! The show, which was held in NYC at Le Poisson Rouge on June 21, 2012, was hosted by John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory). A2IM congratulates all of the night’s nominees and winners and extends a big thanks to our sponsors: official.fm, Pandora, eMusic & The Orchard. In July, a video of the Libera Award show will be available to watch on A2IM.org.

The 2012 Libby Winners

Below is a sampling of the press which we received.

A2IM’s official press release can be read HERE.

Our sponsor’s press releases: official.fm’s press release | eMusic’s press release

Wall Street Journal “Rocking It, Indie Style” June 26, 2012 by Raphael Rosen

Wall Street Journal Speakeasy

Billboard.biz: June 22, 2012

Billboard.biz: June 21, 2012

Grammy.org

Getty Images: Official Photos

Pictures on Flickr by John Lambremont (Kill Rock Stars). Thanks John!!

Check Out The  Libera Awards 2012  *Sizzle Reel* by josh steinbauer

A2IM-sizzle-reel from josh steinbauer on Vimeo.

Check out the Video of The Full Show recorded from the sound booth at Le Poisson Rouge

Thanks Again To Our Sponsors