About The Awards

Held for the first time in late 2006 on a wind swept balcony in central Sydney, the inaugural AIR Independent Music Awards signaled the beginning of something new and genuine in the Australian music industry. Amongst the countless number of awards held each year, the 200 strong crowd knew that they were witnessing something significant, an event that would grow, and a platform that is a barometer for the next’s year’s big acts.

Gotye, who won first year’s ‘Best New Independent Artist’ prize performed one of his first ever live shows at the awards in November 2006; Blue King Brown, who took out the award for ‘Best Performing Independent Single / EP’, have continued to mark their place at the forefront of Australia roots music with larger shows and growing audiences; and Hilltop Hoods, winners of ‘Best Independent Artist’,  had an amazing 2007, staking their claims as the kings of Australian hip–hop.

“It’s a fact that independent recording sector is responsible for the development of the majority of, and arguably the best quality music, produced in Australia,” AIR CEO Stuart Watters said.

“These awards are designed to honour the quality and diversity of music made by Australian people, and supporting a music culture that is alive and thriving both here at home, and also in an international context.”

The AIR Awards differ from every other music awards in Australia as they provide recognition of outstanding achievements by 100% Australian independent artists - specifically those artists who are released through an Australian owned independent record label AND also distributed through an Australian owned distribution company.  The pool of nominees is drawn from the  AIR Independent Charts, which are compiled by AIR and calculate sales rankings of independent releases.

Awards are based on statistics collated by AIR each week via the “AIR Independent Chart”, Australia’s only weekly chart dedicated to profiling top selling Australian independent artists. The chart profiles record sales by Australian independent artists and brings attention to some of the most interesting new music produced in Australia today. The "AIR Independent Chart" is compiled by AIR from sales rankings supplied by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) on a weekly basis. It differs from the ARIA chart because it focuses 100% on Australian artists represented by independent labels, giving important profile to our thriving local music industry.