| AIR Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current: AIR Awards of 2023 | |
| Awarded for | The AIR Awards recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. |
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | Australian Independent Record Labels Association |
| First awarded | 2006 |
| Website | air |
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hotel in Sydney on 29 November 2006 and sponsored by V energy drinks. [1] The following awards ceremonies were held between October and December in Melbourne, Victoria from 2007 to 2015. [2]
In December 2008 it was announced that Jägermeister, previously a "headline sponsor", would become the major sponsors until 2010. [3] When a further three-year deal for sponsorship by Jägermeister was announced in 2010, the awards were renamed the Jägermeister Independent Music Awards. [4] In 2013, Carlton Dry became the major sponsor, with the awards renamed Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards. [5]
There were no awards in 2016, due to a move in the eligibility dates for the AIR Awards to align with the calendar year. The 2017 awards thus saw a slightly longer eligibility period than usual with members' releases period between 1 August 2015 and 31 December 2016. [6]
From 2017–2019, the South Australian Government's newly established Live Music Events Fund promised funding to the Awards and concurrent music conference, to take place in Adelaide, South Australia. The events took place in July, along with Music SA's Umbrella: Winter City Sounds, a program of live music across Adelaide, and a couple of food and wine festivals in the city. [7]
Since 2020, The Awards were held at the Freemasons Hall, Adelaide. [8]
The AIR Independent Music Awards are co-ordinated by The Australian Independent Record Labels Association), a non-profit, member-owned organisation representing Australia's independent recording sector.
In the inaugural edition, four awards were presented, Best Performing Independent Album, Best Performing Independent Single/EP, Best Performing Independent Single/EP and Best New Independent Artist. The "performing" element was dropped from the award the following year. Genre specific awards were introduced from 2007. The award for Best New Independent Artist changed to Breakthrough Independent Artist in 2009. [9]
Since 2017, Nominees for the Awards must be released between the period 1 January to 31 December, preceding the Awards. All nominees must be Australian artists, must be self-released or released on an Australian independent label. All nominated master recordings must be entirely owned by an Australian artist or Australian Independent Label. For the purposes of these awards, Australian Independent Labels are businesses that are not owned in part or whole by one of the three major labels. For the avoidance of doubt, if an Australian Independent Label chooses to distribute it's catalogue through a third-party major label, they will remain eligible for the awards. [10]
The AIR invites all of its artist, associate, full and distributor members to put forward releases from the eligibility period for a long-list and releases which have charted in the AIR Music Charts during the eligibility period are also eligible for the long-list. The long list is presented to a voting academy of approximately 400 judges. The judging pool includes broadcasters (community radio, commercial radio, ABC Radio, music television channels and ABC television), artists, online music media, newspapers, AIR Members and other independent music industry representatives.
Judges choose their three favourite releases across the following categories:
There are also specialist voting academies for: [11]
Katie Anne Noonan is an Australian singer and songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; performs with her mother Maggie Noonan; and plays with her band The Captains. Noonan was the musical director of and performed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games' opening and closing ceremonies.
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, Triple J Unearthed and Double J The awards are given in an on-air ceremony held in November each year as part of triple j's AusMusic Month.
Boomtown Records was an independent record label founded by Jaddan Comerford in October 2002 and based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2011 the label was rebranded with Staple Management to new company, UNFD.
Wolf & Cub are a psychedelic rock band from Adelaide, Australia. Three of the original members hail from Port Augusta. The four-piece were signed to record label 4AD, which make use of two drummers. This allows the percussive elements of their music to feature more prominently alongside the guitar. Their name derives from a comic from Japan, "Lone Wolf and Cub". Wolf & Cub signed to Last Gang records in North America. Their third studio album, Heavy Weight, was released in 2013.
Obese Records was a record label that released music from the Australian hip hop genre. It was the largest Australian independent hip hop label, including performers Pegz, Hilltop Hoods, Thundamentals, Reason, Andy Struksha, and Dialectrix. Obese Records also operated two retail stores in Melbourne, a record distribution company, a soul imprint named Plethora Records, and operated the artists' management and touring company Obese Records Artist Management.
Ash Grunwald is an Australian blues musician. He has released nine studio albums and has received five nominations for ARIA Music Awards. Five albums have charted in the ARIA Albums Chart top 50; Fish out of Water (2008), Hot Mama Vibes (2010), Trouble's Door (2012), Gargantua (2013) and Mojo (2019).
Birds of Tokyo are an Australian alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Their debut album, Day One, gained them domestic success, reaching number three on the AIR Independent Album charts and spending a total of 36 consecutive weeks in the top ten.
Hermitude is an Australian electronic-hip hop duo, originating from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
The Australian Independent Record Labels Association, formerly Association of Independent Record Labels, is a non-profit trade association which supports the growth and development of Australia's independent recording industry. It represents Australian-owned record labels and independent artists based in Australia who function without the backing of major record labels.
Ball Park Music is an Australian five-piece indie rock band from Brisbane consisting of Sam Cromack, Jennifer Boyce, Paul Furness, Dean Hanson and Daniel Hanson. Since forming in 2008, the band has released seven studio albums. Their debut, Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs (2011), was nominated for Australian Album of the Year at the J Awards, and its 2012 follow-up, Museum, debuted at number nine on the ARIA charts. Their third album, Puddinghead (2014), was supported by the certified-platinum lead single "She Only Loves Me When I'm There".
DZ Deathrays are an Australian dance-punk trio from Brisbane, Queensland. Composed of Shane Parsons (vocals/guitar), Lachlan Ewbank and Simon Ridley (drums), they put out two EPs before releasing their debut album, Bloodstreams, in April 2012. The album won the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2012. To date they have released six studio albums: Bloodstreams, Black Rat, Bloody Lovely, Positive Rising: Part 1, Positive Rising: Part 2 and R.I.F.F
Harley Edward Streten, known professionally as Flume, is an Australian musician, DJ, and music producer. He is regarded as a pioneer of future bass who helped popularise the genre. His self-titled debut studio album, Flume, was released in 2012 to positive reviews, topping the ARIA Albums Chart and reaching double-platinum accreditation in Australia.
Karl Thomas, better known as ShockOne, is an Australian electronic music producer and DJ born in 1982. Originally from Esperance, Western Australia, he now resides in Perth. He has been releasing music as ShockOne since 2005, producing a wide variety of dance genres including drum and bass, dubstep, drumstep and electro house.
DMA's are an Australian rock band formed in 2012 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band is composed of lead vocalist Tommy O'Dell, lead guitarist Matt Mason, and rhythm guitarist Johnny Took. They originally gained popularity for their debut single "Delete" and for their self-titled EP, which were both released in 2014. The band have since gone on to release four studio albums: Hills End (2016), For Now (2018), The Glow (2020) and How Many Dreams? (2023). All four albums have peaked within the top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, with the latter two also reaching the top five in the UK and Scotland.
Georgia Claire Flipo, known professionally as G Flip and informally referred to as G, is an Australian singer, songwriter, producer, drummer, and musician from Melbourne, Victoria. Their debut studio album, About Us, was released on 30 August 2019.
The AIR Awards of 2007 is the second annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards and was an award ceremony at Toff of the Town, in Melbourne, Australia on 10 December 2007 to honour outstanding achievements in sales by Australian independent artists. Four genre categories were added the list of awards from the previous year and German liquor brand, Jägermeister were named as the sponsor of the event for the first time.
The AIR Awards of 2008 is the third annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards and was an award ceremony at The Corner Hotel, in Melbourne, Australia on 24 November 2008 to recognise outstanding achievements of local artists who release their work through an Australian-owned independent record label and distribute their work through a locally-owned distribution firm. The event was again sponsored by German liquor brand, Jägermeister.
The AIR Awards of 2009 is the fourth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards and was an award ceremony at The Forum Theatre, in Melbourne, Australia on 23 November 2009 to recognise outstanding achievements of local artists who release their work through an Australian-owned independent record label and distribute their work through a locally-owned distribution firm.
The AIR Awards of 2012 is the seventh annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Melbourne, Australia on 16 October 2012. The event was sponsored by German liquor brand, Jägermeister for the final time.
The AIR Awards of 2013 is the eighth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 October 2013. The event was sponsored by Australian brewing company, Carlton Dry.
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