AIR Awards

Last updated
AIR Awards
Current: AIR Awards of 2024
Awarded forThe AIR Awards recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
CountryAustralia
Presented by Australian Independent Record Labels Association
First awarded2006;18 years ago (2006)
Website air.org.au/air-awards/

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.

Contents

History

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]

Categories

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]

Judging process

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]

Ceremonies

YearBest Independent ArtistBest Independent AlbumBest Independent Single/EPBreakthrough Independent Artist
2006 Hilltop Hoods The Hard Road by Hilltop HoodsBlue King Brown by Blue King Brown Gotye
2007 Sneaky Sound System Grand National by John Butler Trio "UFO" by Sneaky Sound System British India
2008 The Herd Gurrumul by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu"Where the City Meets the Sea" by The Getaway Plan Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
2009 The Drones Havilah by The Drones"Going to the Casino" by Philadelphia Grand Jury Bertie Blackman
2010 Dan Sultan Bliss Release by Cloud Control "Rock It" by Little Red Cloud Control
2011 The Jezabels Adalita by Adalita Dark Storm by The Jezabels Emma Louise
2012 The JezabelsRoyal Headache by Royal Headache Thinking in Textures by Chet Faker Chet Faker
2013 Flume Flume by Flume God Loves You When You're Dancing by Vance Joy Vance Joy
2014 Courtney Barnett Hungry Ghost by Violent Soho "Avant Gardener" by Courtney Barnett Sheppard
2015 Courtney Barnett Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett"Depreston" by Courtney Barnett Number 1 Dads
2016(No awards due to eligibility period change) [6]
2017 A.B. Original Reclaim Australia by A.B. Original"January 26" by A.B. Original featuring Dan SultanA.B. Original
2018 Jen Cloher Everything Is Forgotten by Methyl Ethel, and
Quiet Ferocity by The Jungle Giants
"Every Day's the Weekend" by Alex Lahey Baker Boy
2019 Courtney Barnett Tell Me How You Really Feel by Courtney Barnett, and
Djarimirri by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu Djarimirri
"Native Tongue" by Mojo Juju G Flip
2020 [12] Beware of the Dogs by Stella Donnelly "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I Tones and I
2021 [13] The Glow by DMA's "Booster Seat" by Spacey Jane Spacey Jane
2022 [14] Smiling with No Teeth by Genesis Owusu "Smiling with No Teeth" by Genesis Owusu Telenova
2023 King Stingray by King Stingray "Get Inspired" by Genesis OwusuKing Stingray
2024

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Noonan</span> Australian singer and songwriter (born 1977)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J Awards</span> Australian music awards

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boomtown Records</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf & Cub</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ash Grunwald</span> Australian blues musician (born 1976)

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British India (band)</span> Australian indie rock band

British India are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. The band is made up of lead vocalist and guitarist Declan Melia, guitarist Nic Wilson, bassist Will Drummond and drummer Matt O'Gorman. In 2019, Jack Tosi replaced Nic Wilson as a touring member of the band. They have released six studio albums.

Hermitude are 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ball Park Music</span> Australian indie rock band

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DZ Deathrays</span> Australian band

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flume (musician)</span> Australian electronic musician (born 1991)

Harley Edward Streten, known professionally as Flume, is an Australian musician, DJ, and record 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rubens</span> Australian alternative rock band

The Rubens are an award winning 5 piece alternative rock band from Menangle, Australia. The band comprises the three Margin brothers, Izaac, Sam and Elliott, and friends Scott Baldwin and William Zeglis. Their debut self-titled album The Rubens gained them domestic success with it reaching number 3 on the ARIA Charts and being nominated for a J Award for Album of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jungle Giants</span> Australian indie pop band

The Jungle Giants are an Australian indie rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, who formed in 2011.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rüfüs Du Sol</span> Australian alternative dance group

Rüfüs Du Sol is an Australian alternative dance group from Sydney, that consists of Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G Flip</span> Australian musician

Georgia Claire Flipo, known professionally as G Flip, is an Australian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer from Melbourne, Victoria. Their debut studio album, About Us, was released on 30 August 2019. Its follow-up, Drummer, followed almost four years later on 11 August 2023.

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooking Vinyl Australia</span> Australian independent record label

Cooking Vinyl Australia is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 2013 by co-managing directors Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey in partnership with Martin Goldschmidt, Cooking Vinyl Australia works with a variety of international and domestic label partners.

References

  1. "Inaugural AIR Charts Awards". MusicNSW. 25 October 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  2. "AIR Awards". Australian Independent Record Labels Association Ltd (AIR). Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. Brandle, Lars (15 December 2008). "Jagermeister Sponsors AIR Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  4. Murray, Jim (25 August 2010). "Jagermeister Sponsors AIR Charts & Awards". Tone Deaf. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  5. "Independent Music Awards Gain A New Sponsor, Add New Classical Category". Beat. 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  6. 1 2 "AIR AWARDS Story". 2 December 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  7. "National music awards to headline winter entertainment in Adelaide". Australasian Leisure Management. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  8. "2020 AIR Awards Nominees". scenestr. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  9. "History Wins". Australian Independent Record Labels Association . Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  10. "Awards Judging and Eligibility". AIR. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  11. "Awards Judging and Eligibility". AIR. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  12. "That's a wrap: 2020 AIR Awards winners and celebrations". the industry observer. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  13. "2021 AIR Awards Winners". Scenstr.com.au. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  14. "2022 AIR Awards Winners". Scenstr.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2022.