A2IM: American Association of Independent Music

Posted in News by A2IM

A2IM’s annual Board of Directors election opens for voting on Wednesday, May 1^st.  A2IM’s board is elected by a vote of the A2IM label membership with every label member’s primary contact for A2IM possessing the right to vote on behalf of her or his company.  Once again our voting members have an exciting (and large) list of member executives who have stepped up or accepted nomination to run for election to the A2IM board of directors. A2IM’s voting members will be voting to fill four (4) seats from the below list of candidates (alphabetical by first name). Voting closes on Friday, May 24.

The nominees are:

-Alan Galbraith (Wind-up Records)

-Cory Robbins (Robbins Entertainment)

-Damon Sgobbo (Allegro Media Group)

-Denny Stilwell (Mack Avenue Records)

-EJ Johantgen (Prosthetic Records)

-Fabio Acosta (Akela Family Music)

-Glen Barros (Concord Music Group)

-Jamar Chess (Sunflower Entertainment)

-Jeff Waye (Ninja Tune Records)

-Jim Selby (Naxos)

-Josh Norek (Nacional Records)

-Jurgen Korduletsch (Radikal Records/Gummybear International)

-Linda Lucchesi (Simply Grand Music)

-Louis Posen (Hopeless Records)

-Matt Lunsford (Polyvinyl Records)

-Portia Sabin (Kill Rock Stars)

-Richard Burgess (Smithsonian Folkways)

-Robert Williams (335 Records)

-Tim Lee (Tummy Touch Records)

-Todd McCarty (Fearless Records)

A2IM expresses our gratitude to the three board members who, due to term limits, must step down at the end of this term:  Eric Brown (Sub Pop), Dave Hansen (Epitaph) and Tom Silverman (Tommy Boy).  We also thank Jim Selby (Naxos) who will appear on this year’s ballot as an incumbent seeking re-election.  Jim is eligible to run without sitting out a year because he didn’t serve a full 3 year term.  We thank each of these board members for their leadership and commitment to this organization and to the A2IM membership. We look forward to ongoing contributions from each.

Posted in News by A2IM

A2IM Libera Awards 2013 submissions and nominations process is OPEN.
NO COST TO PARTICIPATE.

A2IM, the American Association of Independent Music, is now accepting nominations for the 2013 A2IM Libera Awards (”The Libbys”), celebrating the successes of independent artists and labels in the only awards show voted on solely by the independent community.

Special thanks to the A2IM Libera Awards Co-Hosting Presenter, Caroline!

Last year’s inaugural Libbys, which garnered coverage from the Wall Street Journal, Billboard, etc and recognized Daptone Records, Spotify, Glassnote Records, Bon Iver, and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Martin Mills, among other winners.

The deadline for submitting nominations is Sunday, February 17th.

The list of categories is below as well as links providing easy to follow instructions about how to submit for each category.  Submissions must be completed on these provided forms and returned via email to LIBBYS@a2im.org.

Category: Independent Album of the Year sponsored by Spotify

Category: Independent Label of the Year Award (5 Employees or less worldwide) sponsored by The Orchard

Category: Independent Label of the Year Award (6 Employees or more worldwide) sponsored by ADA

Category: 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 (as of this year’s LIBBY submissions deadline)

Category: Video of the Year

Category: 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

Category: Music Supervisor of the Year sponsored by Silva Screen Music for the music supervisor/licensing person who was especially supportive of independent music labels

Category: Light Bulb Award celebrating the most innovative/creative marketing campaign by an independent label or artist

Category: Hardest Working Artist of the Year celebrating the independent label band/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) 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

Category: 21st Century Award celebrating the service provider or platform that was most beneficial to independent labels and artists

The A2IM Libera Awards are intended to allow independents to celebrate one another’s achievements.  The event was founded by a committee of independent music labels and the committee is chaired by Kill Rock Stars President Portia Sabin.  About the Awards Sabin says, “The Libera Awards give us the chance to celebrate independent music labels and the artists they work with.  Indies are the risk-takers of the music business, and they exist solely to find and support artists whose music they believe in wholeheartedly.  Winning a LIBBY is in a real sense being acknowledged by your community — people who understand the job you do every day.”

eMusic will be returning as a partner of the Libera Awards as the co-presenter of the Up & Comer Artist Award celebrating the next independent music superstar.  Adam Klein, CEO of eMusic, said, “We take pride in our longstanding commitment to independent artists and labels, and to helping music collectors serendipitously uncover their next favorite album. We are thrilled to once again sponsor the Libera ‘Up and Comer Award’ as we continue to support both emerging artists and A2IM’s mission.”

On board as the co-presenting sponsor for the Album of the Year Award is Spotify.  “We are truly pleased to acknowledge the incredible music being released by independent artists,” said Steve Savoca, Head of Content, Spotify. “With the Libera Awards, A2IM has provided a much-needed forum for honoring the great work being done by the independent music community.  We are proud to be sponsoring the Independent Album of the Year award and wish all of the nominees the best of luck.”

David Dufresne, CEO of Bandzoogle, the official online partner for this year’s Awards, added, “Our team is very excited to be sponsoring the Libera Awards this year and to provide the online submissions platform enabling voters to check out and select the best independent music projects of the past year. For the past ten years Bandzoogle has worked with tens of thousands of independent artists and labels to help them establish and grow their web presence.  This community now plays a bigger role than ever in the music industry. It is amazing to see the talent, creativity and hard work get recognized and celebrated through A2IM. We are proud to be part of it.”

All nominee submissions must be for music, projects or artists that occurred or had new music available for commercial release in the United States via an independently owned/controlled label or artist during the period March 1, 2012 through February 28, 2013.

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 20^th.

See a recap of the Inaugural Libbys Show 2012 HERE.

A2Im Thanks Our LIBBYs Sponsors

Posted in Members Only, News by A2IM

We have so many videos to share from Indie Week 2012 that they would just not fit on one post. Below is a continuation of the video series including Rich Bengloff’s A2IM State of the Union Address and Victoria Espinel’s Keynote Address.

The videos are password protected for A2IM members only. Should you need assistance resetting your password or logging in, please contact Sheryl (sheryl@a2im.org)

Posted in Members Only, News by A2IM

We have so many videos to share from Indie Week 2012 that they would just not fit on one post. Below is a continuation of the panels presented on Day 2 including the Digital Case Studies Panel and excerpts 1 thru 6 of the Annual Meeting.

The videos are password protected for A2IM members only. Should you need assistance resetting your password or logging in, please contact Sheryl (sheryl@a2im.org)

Posted in News by A2IM

A2IM’s Indie Week 2012, which was held in NYC from June 19-21, was a huge success. Over 600 members were in attendance across the three days of events making this the largest gathering in A2IM history. In attendance were delegations from AIM in the UK and China as well as delegates from over 10 other countries around the world and our A2IM members from all across the United States. All the panels are available to watch now and other highlights, which include Rich Bengloff’s State of the Union address and the Obama Administration’s “IP Czar” Victoria Espinel’s Keynote address at the A2IM annual member meeting will be on the website later this week and highlighted in next week’s RoundUp Newsletter

Indie Week 2012 was capped off by the Inaugural A2IM Libera Awards. The Libbies, hosted by John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory), were held at Le Poisson Rouge on June 21, 2012. In attendance was a veritable who’s who of the Independent Music Community. A2IM extends a warm THANK YOU to the A2IM Awards Committee for a fantastic event.

Below is a compilation of the press which Indie Week 2012 has received as well as pictures and videos of the panel presentations and annual meeting.

A2IM extends a BIG thanks to our member volunteers (Jeff Kent/Sound Performance, Anna Siegel/7digital, Stacy Karp/A to Z Media, Kyle Olesen/OEM, Jim Logrando/Redeye Distribution, Andrew Keyes/Robot of the Century, Judith Govey, Lara Baker, James Farrelly/AIM, Christina Zafiris, Louis Joachim and Tara Frank) who gave of their time to make Indie Week 2012 run smoothly.

The A2IM staff offer a heartfelt “THANKS!” to our Indie Week 2012 sponsors:

Billboard.Biz (recap of Day One)

Billboard.Biz (recap of Day Two)

Obama Administration’s “IP CZAR”, Victoria Espinel: Indie Week 2012’s Keynote Speaker

Victoria Espinel’s Keynote Address Transcribed

Below are the videos of the panel discussion and annual meeting. Please note, the videos are password protected for A2IM members only. Please contact Sheryl Cohen if you have any difficulties logging in. (sheryl@a2im.org)

Posted in Board of Directors, News by A2IM

As per A2IM’s By-Laws, A2IM will be holding an election in May to fill three (3) board of director seats.  All senior management executives from A2IM label member companies in good standing are eligible to be nominated to run for a board seat.  You are invited to submit yourself, someone from your senior staff, or another A2IM label member executive for nomination for this election.

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS IS FRIDAY, APRIL 27^th.

Please email jim.mahoney@a2im.org if you would like to be nominated or have a nominee in mind.

ABOUT A2IM’s BOARD

A2IM board of directors’ terms run for three years.  Each board seat is term limited to one full three year term.  Any board member serving a full three year term must sit out one year at the conclusion of her or his term before being eligible to run for election again.  The A2IM board of directors meets in person or by teleconference eleven times a year to review the agenda and progress of the organization, represent the membership at large, and assist in setting the priorities and direction for the organization.  Each board member is encouraged to offer his or her expertise and opinions as well as getting involved in committees and projects supporting the efforts and growth of A2IM.  The A2IM staff keeps the board informed of important developments as they arise and seeks guidance from the board in order to better serve the independent music community.

ABOUT THIS YEAR’S ELECTION

There are the three expiring seats up for election this year.  Those seats are currently held by Portia Sabin (Kill Rock Stars), Glen Barros (Concord Music Group) and Jim Cooperman (tinyOGRE Entertainment).  All three (3) A2IM board seats will be filled by a vote of the full A2IM label membership, 1 voter per label member company, in a secret ballot election (voting to be done on-line) in May.

The newly elected board members will serve terms as per the above to begin on July 4, 2012.

TO APPEAR ON THE A2IM BALLOT

1.     All member companies in good standing are eligible to nominate or field a candidate for nomination.

2.     All nominations must be accompanied by the names of five (5) member companies whose principals support the nomination to be confirmed as candidates for election.  Jim Mahoney can assist you in securing a nominee’s 5 supporting recommendations for nomination.

3.     Forward nominations, including a short description of the nominee, the music label the nominee represents, priority issues the nominee will champion, and five (5) supporting names from five different label members for the nominee to A2IM vice president Jim Mahoney via e-mail at jim.mahoney@a2im.org.  You can, if you choose, nominate yourself or another A2IM member.

4.     Deadline for nominations:  Friday, April 27^th (9pm EST).

5.     A2IM staff will certify nominations by Thursday, May 3rd and election voting details will be circulated to each A2IM label member voter (the primary contact at each label member company).