Alison Wenham Honored As Indie Trailblazer With Special Appleseed Award At Fourth Annual A2IM Libera Awards In NYC, June 25

NEW YORK, April 30, 2015 -- A2IM's 4th annual Libera Awards will honor Alison Wenham, CEO of Association of Independent Music (AIM) and chairperson of WIN (Worldwide Independent Network) with the first-ever "Appleseed Award". The award was created to honor Alison's contributions to the Independent community on Thursday, June 25 at the Highline Ballroom.

A true "Jenny Appleseed", Alison was an early pioneer in banding the Independent Music community together and 16 years ago solidified the modern international Independent music label movement with the formation of AIM in the UK. She is also the founding Chairperson of the Worldwide Independent Network ("WIN"), which under her leadership, has grown to include over 25 music label trade organizations across the globe. Here in the States, Alison was instrumental in the founding of A2IM and is credited with building strength and visibility for the music industry's SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). As a result of dedicating her career to championing the Independent Music community's rights across the globe, Alison was honored with an OBE (The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by the Queen of England in 2010. Her work has directly helped level the playing field for Independents and her recent trailblazing initiative for the Fair Digital Deals Declaration made headlines around the world with more than 900 Independent record labels committing to full transparency in reporting revenue to their artists.

"The real strength of WIN lies in the passion and commitment that comes from our member associations around the world. Our collective voice grows louder each year and we have proved time and time again that together we have the ability and resolve to face down those who would threaten our community. WIN could not have happened without A2IM existing. I would like congratulate them on their 10th anniversary and thank them for believing enough to go against their natural instincts and form A2IM. I am flattered and honored to receive this award from them and accept it on behalf of all of those who have played a part in the continuing growth and success of the independent music sector," said Alison Wenham.

This year's awards will also celebrate A2IM's 10-year anniversary, honor VP Records' Pat Chin with a Lifetime Achievement Award and feature soul-funk troubadour Charles Bradley as the musical guest. The Libera Awards cap off A2IM's Indie Week, which will see over 800 attendees from 29 states and 12 countries converge on NYC June 22–25 for a meeting of the minds amongst a who's who of Independent music impresarios and the service providers who support them. This year, Indie Week will feature a 10th Anniversary party, executive one-on-one meetings, and a number of "how to" panel discussions with label members (ATO, Beggars, Glassnote, Sub Pop, VP Records, etc.) and key industry allies (NARAS, Record Store Day, Spotify, The Orchard, YouTube, etc.) tackling some of the most contentious issues facing the industry today -- from how Indies can make the most of the new Global Street Date move to the future of online syncs.

A2IM President Rich Bengloff said of the award, "This year we honor our true leader Alison Wenham. Alison is the person most deserving of top honors, and it's especially fitting that we get the opportunity to recognize her for all her accomplishments on our 10th Anniversary."

A2IM thanks the A2IM Libera Award sponsors: Pandora, MailChimp, SoundExchange, ADA, Fox Rothschild, INgrooves, The Orchard, YouTube, A to Z Media, Bandzoogle, Merlin, Silva Screen/So Recordings.

Please contact Jennifer Masset (jen@a2im.org) about Indie Week and A2IM Libera Award sponsorship opportunities.

ABOUT A2IM
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City representing a broad coalition of over 350 Independently-owned American music label small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The organization represents Independents’ interest in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community, as well as, supports a key segment of America’s creative class and the small business community that represents America’s cultural and musical genre diversity. Billboard Magazine, using Nielsen SoundScan data, identified the Independent music label sector as 35.1 percent of the music industry's U.S. recorded music sales market in 2014 based on copyright ownership, making Independent labels collectively the largest music industry segment.

The organization's board of directors are composed of the following: Razor & Tie President Craig Balsam, Concord Music Group President Glen Barros, Secretly Label Group Head of Domestic Sales & Marketing Cathy Bauer, Smithsonian Folkways Director of Marketing & Sales Richard Burgess, Epitaph/Anti- General Manager Dave Hansen, Hopeless Records Owner Louis Posen, Dualtone Music Group CEO/Co-Founder Scott Robinson, Kill Rock Stars Owner/President Portia Sabin, Glassnote Records General Manager Chris Scully, Ole SVP Digital Jim Selby and Tommy Boy Owner/CEO Thomas Silverman. A2IM's president's advisory committee is Loma Vista Recordings Label Manager Josh Berman, Mack Avenue Records President Denny Stilwell and Compass Records Group Co-Founder Garry West. A2IM's Worldwide Independent Network lead representative is Wind-up Records General Manager Alan Galbraith.

For more information on A2IM, please visit a2im.org