Jessica Pratt, Fontaines D.C., MJ Lenderman and MF DOOM were multiple winners at the 2025 Libera Awards, which honored the best in independent music. This 14th annual awards ceremony took place on Monday, June 9 at the historic Gotham Hall in New York City.
Pratt’s Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer) won three awards – record of the year, best singer-songwriter record and best folk record.
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04/02/2025MF DOOM (Rhymesayers Entertainment) also won three awards – MM..FOOD (20th Anniversary Edition) won best reissue and creative packaging. “One Beer (Madlib Remix)” won best remix.
Fontaines D.C. (XL Recordings) won two awards – best rock record for Romance and music video of the year for “Starburster.”
MJ Lenderman (ANTI-) also won two awards – breakthrough artist and best American roots record for Manning Fireworks.
Shaboozey, whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 19 weeks, received an Impact Award for his album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going (American Dogwood/EMPIRE). Shaboozey was nominated for best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 and new artist of the year at the Country Music Association Awards on Nov. 20.
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08/30/2024The Libera Awards Presented by Merlin – the official name of the awards – kick off the Indie Week conference, which will run from Tuesday (June 10) through Thursday, June 12 at the InterContinental New York Times Square.
The show was hosted by Delisa Shannon, Billboard’s director of shortform content, and featured performances from American music trailblazer Swamp Dogg (Oh Boy Records), genre-bending singer-songwriter serpentwithfeet (Secretly Canadian), punk-rockers Ekko Astral (Topshelf Records) and Latin pop phenomenon Reyna Tropical (Psychic Hotline).
The nominations were announced on Wednesday (March 19) by FIM (The Foundation for Independent Music) and A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music, Inc.).
Dr. Richard James Bergess, MBE, was honored with a special award celebrating his 10 years as president & CEO of A2IM “The 2025 Libera Awards were a powerful reminder of what makes our community extraordinary,” Burgess said in a statement. “We honored not only remarkable music and artistry, but the spirit and purpose that define the independent sector. These nominees and winners embody the innovation, determination, and authenticity that push our industry forward. Congratulations to all who continue to shape the future of music on their own terms.”
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11/27/2024A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City that exists to support and strengthen the independent recorded music sector. Membership currently includes a broad coalition of over 600 independently-owned American music labels.
Here’s a complete list of nominees for the 2025 Libera Awards Presented by Merlin, with winners marked.
Record of the Year
WINNER: Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer)
Kim Gordon – The Collective (Matador Records)
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (ANTI-)
Mk.gee – “Rockman” (R&R Digital)
Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (ANTI-)
Breakthrough Artist
Jessica Pratt (Mexican Summer)
Magdalena Bay (Mom+Pop)
Mannequin Pussy (Epitaph)
WINNER: MJ Lenderman (ANTI-)
Mk.gee (R&R Digital)
Shaboozey (American Dogwood/EMPIRE)
Music Video of the Year
Caravan Palace – “Mirrors” (Le Plan Recordings)
WINNER: Fontaines D.C. – “Starburster” (XL Recordings)
Justice – “Neverender (starring Tame Impala)” (Because Music)
Porter Robinson – “Cheerleader” (Mom+Pop)
Waxahatchee feat. MJ Lenderman – “Right Back to It” (ANTI-)
Yaeji – “booboo” (XL Recordings)
Best Reissue
Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock: The Album (Tommy Boy Records)
American Football – American Football LP1 (25th Anniversary Edition) (Polyvinyl Record Co.)
Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd – The Moon and the Melodies (4AD)
John Cale – Paris 1919 (Deluxe Edition) (Domino Recording Company)
WINNER: MF DOOM – MM..FOOD (20th Anniversary Edition) (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
Ray Charles – Crying Time (Tangerine Records)
Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso (10 Year Anniversary Edition) (Psychic Hotline)
Best Remix
Fcukers – “Bon Bon (Confidence Man Remix)” (Technicolour/Ninja Tune)
Kelela – RAVE:N, The Remixes (Warp Records)
WINNER: MF DOOM – “One Beer (Madlib Remix)” (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
Shygirl – “mr useless – MK remix” (Because Music)
Slowdive – “kisses (grouper remix)” (Dead Oceans)
Best Alternative Rock Record
Being Dead – EELS (Bayonet Records)
Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More (4AD)
WINNER: Kim Gordon – The Collective (Matador Records)
Nada Surf – Moon Mirror (New West Records)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Wild God (Play It Again Sam)
Best American Roots Record
Dave Alvin + Jimmie Dale Gilmore – TexiCali (Yep Roc Records)
Fantastic Negrito – Son of a Broken Man (Storefront Records)
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland (Acony Records)
Joe Ely – Driven to Drive (Rack ’Em Records)
WINNER: MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (ANTI-)
Swamp Dogg – Blackgrass (Oh Boy Records)
Best Blues Record
Cedric Burnside – Hill Country Love (Provogue Records)
Little Feat – Sam’s Place (Hot Tomato Records)
WINNER: Ruthie Foster – Mileage (Sun Records)
Shemekia Copeland – Blame It on Eve (Alligator Records)
The Taj Mahal Sextet – Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa (Lightning Rod Records)
Best Classical Record
Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem (harmonia mundi)
II Divo – XX: 20th Anniversary Album (Il Divo Music)
Isabelle Faust – Britten: Violin Concerto and Chamber Works (harmonia mundi)
Ju-Ping Song – Monad (Starkland)
WINNER: Kelly Moran – Moves in the Field (Warp Records)
Marc-André Hamelin, Nathalie Forget, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Gimeno – Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie (harmonia mundi)
Michael Torke – Bloom (Ecstatic Records)
Best Country Record
Corb Lund – El Viejo (New West Records)
Fancy Hagood – American Spirit (Fancy Hagood Enterprises)
Johnny Blue Skies – Passage du Desir (High Top Mountain Records)
Shaboozey – Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going (American Dogwood/EMPIRE)
WINNER: Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (ANTI-)
Zach Top – Cold Beer & Country Music (Leo33)
Best Dance Record
A.G. Cook – “Britpop” (New Alias)
WINNER: Fcukers – Baggy$$ (Technicolour / Ninja Tune)
Peggy Gou – I Hear You (XL Recordings)
Shygirl – Club Shy (Because Music)
SOPHIE – SOPHIE (Future Classic)
Best Electronic Record
WINNER: Caribou – Honey (Merge Records)
Floating Points – Cascade (Ninja Tune)
Flying Lotus – Spirit Box (Warp Records)
Jamie xx – In Waves (Young)
Justice – Hyperdrama (Because Music)
Photay – Windswept (Mexican Summer)
Best Folk Record
Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future (4AD)
Aoife O’Donovan – All My Friends (Yep Roc Records)
Bonny Light Horseman – Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free (Jagjaguwar)
WINNER: Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer)
Madi Diaz – Weird Faith (ANTI-)
Best Global Record
Altin Gun – “Vallahi Yok” (ATO Records)
Asake – Lungu Boy (YBNL Nation/EMPIRE)
BALTHVS – Harvest (Mixto Records)
Glass Beams – Mahal (Ninja Tune)
Hermanos Gutiérrez – Sonido Cósmico (Easy Eye Sound)
Manu Chao – Viva Tu (Because Music)
WINNER: Mdou Moctar – Funeral for Justice (Matador Records)
Best Heavy Record
Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She (Loma Vista Recordings)
High On Fire – Cometh the Storm (MNRK Music Group)
WINNER: METZ – Up on Gravity Hill (Sub Pop Records)
Scene Queen – Hot Singles in Your Area (Hopeless Records)
Speed – “Only One Mode” (FLATSPOT)
Best Hip-Hop/Rap Record
BigXthaPlug – Take Care (UnitedMasters)
Cash Cobain – PLAY CASH COBAIN (Giant Music)
Common & Pete Rock – The Auditorium Vol. 1 (Loma Vista Recordings)
Denzel Curry – King of the Mischievous South (Loma Vista Recordings)
E L U C I D – REVELATOR (Fat Possum Records)
WINNER: Shygirl – “Immaculate” (feat. Saweetie) (Because Music)
Best Jazz Record
BADBADNOTGOOD – Mid Spiral (XL Recordings)
Ezra Collective – Dance, No One’s Watching (Partisan Records)
CO-WINNER: Kamasi Washington – Fearless Movement (Young)
Lakecia Benjamin – Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope Records)
Morgan Guerin – Tales of the Facade (Candid Records)
CO-WINNER: Nala Sinephro – Endlessness (Warp Records)
Nubya Garcia – Odyssey (Concord Jazz)
Best Latin Record
Angélica Garcia – Gemelo (Partisan Records)
Buscabulla – “11:11” (Domino Recording Company)
Chicano Batman – “Era Primavera” (ATO Records)
Dayme Arocena – Alkemi (Brownswood Recordings)
Gaby Moreno and La Lom – “Alma Florecida” (Cosmica Artists)
Girl Ultra – blush (Big Dada/Ninja Tune)
WINNER: Reyna Tropical – Malegría (Psychic Hotline)
Best Outlier Record
Chanel Beads – Your Day Will Come (Jagjaguwar)
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn – Quiet in a World Full of Noise (Merge Records)
Hakushi Hasegawa – Mahōgakkō (Brainfeeder)
Helado Negro – PHASOR (4AD)
CO-WINNER: Khruangbin – A LA SALA (Dead Oceans)
Moor Mother – The Great Bailout (ANTI-)
CO-WINNER: SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE – YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING (Saddle Creek)
urika’s bedroom – Big Smile, Black Mire (True Panther)
Best Pop Record
Kate Nash – 9 Sad Symphonies (Kill Rock Stars)
Kesha – “Joyride” (Kesha Records)
WINNER: Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk (Mom+Pop)
Sofie Royer – Young-Girl Forever (Stones Throw Records)
SOPHIE – SOPHIE (Future Classic)
Suki Waterhouse – Memoir of a Sparklemuffin (Sub Pop Records)
Best Punk Record
A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer (Dedstrange)
Chubby And the Gang – And Then There Was… (FLATSPOT)
Ekko Astral – pink balloons (Topshelf Records)
Laura Jane Grace – Hole in My Head (Polyvinyl Record Co.)
WINNER: Pissed Jeans – Half Divorced (Sub Pop Records)
SPRINTS – Letter to Self (City Slang)
Best R&B Record
Erika de Casier – Still (4AD)
Fana Hues – Moth (Bright Antenna Records)
WINNER: Mavis Staples – “Worthy” (ANTI-)
NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge) – Why Lawd? (Stones Throw Records)
serpentwithfeet – GRIP (Secretly Canadian)
Yaya Bey – Ten Fold (Big Dada/Ninja Tune)
Best Rock Record
WINNER: Fontaines D.C. – Romance (XL Recordings)
IDLES – TANGK (Partisan Records)
Jack White – No Name (Third Man Records)
Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven (Epitaph)
The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know (Captured Tracks)
The Linda Lindas – No Obligation (Epitaph)
Best Singer-Songwriter Record
Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future (4AD)
Christian Lee Hutson – Paradise Pop. 10 (ANTI-)
Faye Webster – Underdressed at the Symphony (Secretly Canadian)
WINNER: Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer)
Katie Gavin – “As Good as It Gets” (Saddest Factory Records)
Laura Marling – Patterns in Repeat (Partisan Records/Chrysalis Records)
Best Soul/Funk Record
Angela Muñoz – Descanso (Stones Throw Records)
Neal Francis – “Back It Up” (ATO Records)
The Dip – Love Direction (Dualtone)
WINNER: Thee Sacred Souls – Got a Story to Tell (Daptone Records)
Thee Sinseers – Sinseerly Yours (Colemine Records)
Best Spiritual Record
Brother John – Brother John & The GFT Collective (The Blues Preachers/The Orchard)
Flock – Flock II (Strut)
Lauren Daigle – “Then I Will (from Boenhoffer)” (Centricity Music)
Lecrae – “Die for the Party” (Reach Records)
WINNER: The Harlem Gospel Travelers – Rhapsody (Colemine Records)
The Nelons – Loving You (Daywind Records)
Best Sync Usage
Cigarettes After Sex – “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” (It Ends With Us) (Partisan Records)
WINNER: De La Soul – “Say No Go” (Civil War) (A.O.I./Chrysalis/Reservoir)
Jamie xx & The Avalanches – “All You Children” (Apple) (Young)
Spoon – “The Way We Get By” (A Real Pain Trailer) (Matador Records)
Waxahatchee feat. MJ Lenderman – “Right Back to It” (Tracker S1 E6) (ANTI-)
Label of the Year (15+ Employees)
ANTI- Records
Dead Oceans
Mom+Pop
Ninja Tune
WINNER: Partisan Records
Stones Throw Records
Sub Pop Records
Warp Records
Label of the Year (6-14 Employees)
Captured Tracks
City Slang
Fat Possum
Light in the Attic
WINNER: Mexican Summer
Secret City Records
Label of the Year (5 Or Fewer Employees)
Bayonet Records
Daptone Records
Oh Boy Records
Psychic Hotline
Topshelf Records
WINNER: True Panther
Distributor of the Year
FUGA
IDOL
WINNER: Redeye
Secretly Distribution
Symphonic Distribution
The Orchard
Independent Champion
WINNER: Bandcamp
Infinite Catalog
Marauder
Qobuz
The Bloom Effect
Publisher of the Year
Beggars Music
Downtown Music Publishing
Reservoir
Secret City Publishing
WINNER: Warp Publishing
Marketing Genius
WINNER: IDLES – TANGK (Partisan Records)
Khruangbin – A LA SALA (Dead Oceans)
MF DOOM – MM..FOOD (20 Year Anniversary Edition) (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (ANTI-)
Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (ANTI-)
Self-Released Record of the Year
Cheekface – It’s Sorted (Cheekface)
Fancy Hagood – American Spirit (Fancy Hagood Enterprises)
Los Campesinos! – All Hell (Heart Swells)
Orla Gartland – Everybody Needs a Hero (New Friends Music)
WINNER: RAYE – “Genesis.” (Human Re Sources)
TV Girl & George Clanton – Fauxllennium (Blissful Serenity Industries, LLC)
Creative Packaging
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Volume II (Expanded Edition) (Warp Records)
Khruangbin – A LA SALA (Dead Oceans)
Mac DeMarco – Salad Days 10 Year Anniversary Edition (Captured Tracks)
WINNER: MF DOOM – MM..FOOD (20 Year Anniversary Edition) (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
The Go Betweens – G Stands for Go-Betweens: Volume 3 (Domino Recording Company)
Various Artists – Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 8 (Sub Pop Records)
Impact Award
WINNER: Shaboozey – Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going (American Dogwood/EMPIRE)
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