Charles Bradley To Bring "Ferocious, Passionate Delivery (Spin)" To Fourth Annual A2IM Libera Awards In NYC, June 25

NEW YORK, April 15, 2015 -- A2IM's 4th Annual Libera Awards will host soul-funk troubadour Charles Bradley as the awards show's featured musical guest on June 25 at NYC's Highline Ballroom.

A two-time Libera Award winner (Road Warrior, Hardest Working Artist), Charles is known for his "ferocious, passionate (Spin)" performance and harrowing backstory as a down-on-his luck James Brown impersonator turned Apollo Theater headliner. An Independent artist on A2IM member label Daptone Records, Charles embodies the innovative artistry and tenacious spirit that the A2IM Libera Awards celebrate. Charles will perform as part of an 8-piece band, playing a selection of fiery, floor-stomping songs.

Comedian John Ross Bowie (The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm) will return for his third year hosting the Libera Awards. On his hosting duties, John said, "I am thrilled to be returning to my home city to host the one awards ceremony that will ignore "Birdman." I love the LIBBYs and have enjoyed watching it grow into the party it is"

The evening is a celebration of A2IM's 10-year anniversary and caps their annual 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 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