A2IM Names Libera 2014 Independent Music Nominees
[UPDATED] U.S. independent music trade group A2IM has named the nominees for its 2014 Libera Awards. Designed to showcase the diverse landscape of independent artists and the companies that support them, The Liberas are on track to replace a plethora of competitors as the indie music most prestigious seal of approval. The full list of 2014 Libera nominees:
Independent Album of the Year
• Arcade Fire 'Reflektor' (Merge Records)
• Arctic Monkeys 'AM' (Domino)
• Boards of Canada 'Tomorrow's Harvest' (Warp Records)
• Cécile McLorin Salvant 'WomanChild' (Mack Avenue Records)
• Chvrches 'The Bones of What You Believe' (Glassnote)
• Neko Case 'The Worse Things Get…' (Anti Records)
• Phosphorescent 'Muchacho' (Dead Oceans)
• The National 'Trouble Will Find Me' (4AD)
• Vampire Weekend 'Modern Vampires of the City' (XL Recordings)
• William Onyeabor 'Who Is William Onyeabor' (Luaka Bop)
Independent Label of the Year Award – 5 employees or less worldwide (sponsored by The Orchard)
• Daptone Records
• Ghostly International
• Innovative Leisure
• Luaka Bop
• Rhymesayers Entertainment
• Temporary Residence Ltd.
Independent Label of the Year Award – 6 employees or more worldwide (sponsored by ADA)
• ATO Records
• Dualtone Music Group
• Epitaph/Anti Records
• Glassnote
• Merge Records
• Secretly Canadian
• XL Recordings
Video of the Year, sponsored by YouTube
• Arcade Fire "Reflektor" (Merge Records) / Video Director: Anton Corbijn
• Chvrches "The Mother We Share" (Glassnote) / Video Director: Sing J. Lee
• Queens of the Stone Age "My God Is The Sun" (Matador Records) / Video Director: Boneface and Liam Brazier
• Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings "Retreat" (Daptone Records) / Video Director: Lizzi Akana
• The Knife "Tooth for an Eye" (Mute/Brille/Rabid) / Video Director: Roxy Farhat & Kakan Hermansson
• William Onyeabor "Atomic Bomb" (Luaka Bop) / Video Director: Nicolai Troshinsky
Up and Comer Artist Award, sponsored by Beats Music - Predicting and celebrating the next independent label superstar artist (to qualify artist must have total career sales not exceeding 5,000 full length albums or 25,000 tracks – combined – as of the submission deadline)
• Alpine 'A Is For Alpine' (Votiv)
• Angel Olsen 'Burn Your Fire For No Witness' (Jagjaguwar)
• FKA Twigs 'EP2' (Young Turks/XL Recordings)
• Lo-Fang 'Blue Film' (4AD)
• Mandolin Orange 'This Side of Jordan' (Yep Roc)
• The Strypes 'Blue Collar Jane' EP (Photo Finish Records)
Breakthrough Artist of the Year, sponsored by INgrooves – Celebrating the independent label superstar artist who has for the first time commercially released a music project that has exceeded 5,000 full length album or 25,000 track sales
• Cécile McLorin Salvant 'WomanChild' (Mack Avenue Records)
• Chvrches 'The Bones of What You Believe' (Glassnote)
• Hurray for the Riff Raff 'Smalltown Heroes' (ATO Records)
• Mikal Cronin 'MCII' (Merge Records)
• Savages 'Silence Yourself' (Matador Records/Pop Noire)
• The Front Bottoms 'Talon Of The Hawk' (Bar/None Records)
• Valerie June 'Pushin' Against A Stone' (Concord Records)
• William Onyeabor 'Who Is William Onyeabor' (Luaka Bop)
Best Sync Usage, sponsored by Silva Screen Music – Celebrating the most creative or most impactful use of independent music in a film/TV/ad campaign
• Alabama Shakes "You Ain't Alone" (ATO Records) in Dallas Buyers Club by District Music
• Beach House "Take Care" (Sub Pop Records) in trailer for Blue Is the Warmest Color
• Cat Power "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (Matador) in Apple iPhone 5s and Airplay – "Misunderstood" by Peymon Maskan and David Taylor at Media Arts Lab
• Cinematic Orchestra "To Build A Home" (Ninja Tune) in Guinness Wheelchair Basketball commercial by Third Side Music
• Grinderman "Hyper Worm Tamer (UNKLE Remix)" (Anti-) in Nike Running Presents: The Nike Free 5.0 – online ad by JT Griffith – Nike
• Junip "Line of Fire" (Mute) in Breaking Bad – series finale trailer video by Bankrobber Music
• Wax Tailor "Positively Inclined (feat. Marina Quaisse & A.S.M.)” (Le Plan Music) in Motorola G Ad by Revolution Songs
Light Bulb Award – Celebrating the most innovative/creative marketing campaign for a project released by an independent label or artist
• Label Name: Warp Records / Project: Boards of Canada / Head of Marketing: Steven Hill & Josh Berman
• Label Name: Kill Rock Stars / Project: Win A Date with Marnie Stern / Head of Marketing: Portia Sabin
• Label Name: ATO Records / Project: The Silver Gymnasium 8-Bit Video Game / Head of Marketing: Will Scheff / Kirby Lee / Jon Salter
• Label Name: New West Records / Project: Songs For Slim / Head of Marketing: Peter Jesperson
• Label Name: Ghostly International & Warby Parker / Project: Ghostly International x Warby Parker: Curtis Sunglasses / Head of Marketing: Samuel Valenti
• Label Name: Luaka Bop / Project: Who is William Onyeabor? / Head of Marketing: Eric Welles Nystrom
Hardest Working Artist – Celebrating the independent label artist that worked hardest at their job or was the most instrumental in promoting their music
• Charles Bradley (Daptone Records)
• Hurray for the Riff Raff (ATO Records)
• Local Natives (Frenchkiss Records)
• Passenger (Nettwerk)
• Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records)
• The National (4AD)
• Twin Forks (Dine Alone Records)
Best Live Act of the Year
• Arcade Fire (Merge Records)
• Charles Bradley (Daptone Records)
• Chvrches (Glassnote)
• Hanni El Khatib (Innovative Leisure)
• J. Roddy Walston & The Business (ATO Records)
• Pearl Jam (Monkeywrench Records)
• Queens Of The Stone Age (Matador)
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
• AWOLNATION – Megalithic Symphony Deluxe Edition (Red Bull Records) by The Uprising Creative
• Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze (deluxe LP) (Matador Records) by Stephen Powers/ESPO
• Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium (ATO Records) by William Schaff/Daniel Murphy
• Quasimoto – Yessir Whatever (Stones Throw Records) by Jeff Jank
• Tift Merritt – Traveling Alone (Yep Roc) by Raúl Peña
• Various – Mexican Summer 5 Years (Mexican Summer) by Jesper Eklow
Independent Ally of the Year, sponsored by Caroline – 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
• Merlin
• NPR Music
• PledgeMusic
• Record Store Day
• Sirius XM Radio
• SoundExchange
• Spotify
