Shore Fire Media


Secretly & Partners Earn 11 Wins at 2026 Libera Awards

Highlights Include Distributor of The Year, Publisher of The Year, Self-Released Record of The Year & More Across Rock, Folk & Other Genre Categories

Secretly Distribution Roster Labels Win for Jazz, Packaging, Reissue & More

Label 30th Anniversary Celebration Set For August 27th-29th, Featuring Durand Jones & The Indications, Sharon Van Etten, Kevin Morby, Jensen McRae, Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co, Jordan Patterson, Angela Autumn & More in Bloomington

Congratulations to Secretly, whose artists, record labels, affiliate companies and distributed label partners earned a collective 11 wins at this week's 2026 Libera Awards, the premier celebration of independent music. Heading into the night with nominations across 27 different categories, the vast scope of recognition reflects the continued expansion of the entire Secretly ecosystem over the past year, and its ongoing commitment to empowering independence. 

Highlights include Secretly Distribution earning Distributor of The Year, Secretly Publishing taking home Publisher of The Year and Hayley Williams' Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party receiving Self-Released Record of The Year, further lauding her and her label venture Post Atlantic's trailblazing partnership with Secretly Distribution's Label & Shared Services team. 

Additional Secretly Group wins extended across Best Folk Record (Folk Bitch Trio / Jagjaguwar) and Best Rock Record (Wednesday / Dead Oceans), while All Flowers Group earned awards for Best Record From Games & Interactive Media (C418 / Ghostly International) and Best Singer-Songwriter Record (tie) (Annahstasia / drink sum wtr). Several of Secretly Distribution's label partners also took home top honors for Best Jazz Record (Mei Semones / Bayonet Records), Best Singer-Songwriter Record (tie) (Ichiko Aoba / Psychic Hotline), Best Reissue (MF DOOM / Rhymesayers Entertainment / Metalface Records) and Best Creative Packaging (MF DOOM / Rhymesayers Entertainment / Metalface Records). 

Ahead of the Libera Awards, Secretly celebrated 12 executives named to Billboard's 2026 list of Indie Power Players, with honorees spanning Secretly Group, Secretly Distribution and All Flowers Group. Later this summer, Secretly will mark the 30th Anniversary of its founding with What Comes After the Blues: Secretly 30 in Bloomington, IndianaTaking place August 27th-29th, in the city where it first began and where it is still headquartered, the three-night series will feature special performances from those who have and will continue to shape its past, present and future, at local venues essential to the story of both Secretly and the city.

Lineups include Magnolia & Johnson Electric CoEarly Day Miners and June Panic at The Bluebird on August 27th, Sharon Van EttenKevin Morby and Jordan Patterson at Buskirk-Chumley Theater on August 28th, and Durand Jones & The IndicationsJensen McRae and Angela Autum at Granfalloon Concert Series at Switchyard Park on August 29th. Find tickets and more details HERE, and see Secretly's full list of 2026 Libera Awards below.

2026 LIBERA AWARDS, SECRETLY & PARTNER WINS

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

Secretly Distribution

 

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR 

Secretly Publishing

 

SELF-RELEASED RECORD OF THE YEAR

Hayley Williams - Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party (Post Atlantic)

 

BEST FOLK RECORD

Folk Bitch Trio - Now Would Be a Good Time (Jagjaguwar)

 

BEST JAZZ RECORD

Mei Semones - Animaru (Bayonet Records)

 

BEST RECORD FROM GAMES & INTERACTIVE MEDIA

C418 - Minecraft: Alpha + Beta Box Set (Ghostly International)

 

BEST REISSUE

MF DOOM - Special Herbs (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

 

BEST ROCK RECORD

Wednesday - Bleeds (Dead Oceans)

 

BEST SINGER/SONGWRITER RECORD

Annahstasia - Tether (drink sum wtr)

Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures (Psychic Hotline)

 

BEST CREATIVE PACKAGING

MF DOOM – Special Herbs (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

About Secretly

Secretly is a group of affiliated music and culture companies that includes Secretly Group (Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory Records, Secretly Canadian), The Numero Group, Secretly Distribution, Secretly Publishing, All Flowers Group (drink sum wtr, Ghostly International, Sacred Bones Records) and Merge Records. 

About Secretly Group

Secretly Group is a leading independently owned music company including record labels Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory Records and Secretly Canadian, with headquarters in Bloomington, IN. Secretly Canadian was founded in 1996, Jagjaguwar in 1996, Dead Oceans in 2007 and Saddest Factory Records in 2020.

About Secretly Distribution

For more than 25 years, Secretly Distribution (SD) has been enabling independents to challenge the mainstream. SD is not only a full-service global physical and digital music distributor, but it also provides hands-on marketing, financial and technological support to some of the most exciting record labels and artists across geographies and genres. By supporting businesses who are self-reliant by choice, not just necessity, SD champions the musicians and creative works that drive culture forward. 

Among SD's partners are Rhymesayers, Touch & Go, Moshi Moshi, Bayonet, Third Man Records, Ipecac Recordings, DFA, Run For Cover, Big Crown, Colemine, Nyege Nyege Tapes, Jazz Is Dead, Ubiquity, Org Music, Oh Boy Records, ZZK, Secretly-affiliated labels Dead Oceans, drink sum wtr, Ghostly International, Merge Records, Sacred Bones, Jagjaguwar, Secretly Canadian and the Numero Group – and so many more.

About All Flowers Group

All Flowers Group is a reassertion of the record label concept, and a constellation of music brands sharing the "same soil, water, and sun" approach that has fostered the success of sister company Secretly Group. All Flowers is driven by decades of shared industry experience, but lacking cynicism, and a desire to give flowers to the best creatives in the game today. Alongside the expanding, imaginative team and roster of Ghostly International, All Flowers Group also includes drink sum wtr and Sacred Bones Records.

About Secretly Publishing

Secretly Publishing prioritizes transparency and remains tireless in their work to cultivate the careers of burgeoning songwriters, canonize catalogs that merit a permanent place in history, and maximize the value of music creators through fair and dynamic dealmaking. Secretly Publishing represents over 30,000 musical works, ranging from songs by independent artists to the publishing catalogs of affiliates Songs of Numero Group and Ghostly Songs, to writer shares on songs performed by Solange, J Cole, Common, Pusha T, Lizzo, Maggie Rogers, Vampire Weekend, Snoop Dogg, Jay Z, Kanye West, Phantogram and more.

For more information, please contact Matt Hanks or Greg Jakubik at Shore Fire Media, 718-522-7171