MBW Views is a series of op-eds from eminent music industry people… with something to say. The following MBW op/ed comes from Bill Werde, director of the Bandier music business program at Syracuse University and a former editorial director of Billboard.
Below, he argues that while there is much to admire about The Libera Awards, there is much, much more the ceremony could be doing with – and for – independent music…
The time is now for independent music. There are fewer giant stars and more niche artists. Independent market share is growing steadily, and with the continued financialization of and resultant quarterly pressures for the majors, there will be more and more opportunity for companies that actually want to invest in real artist development, and can scale their businesses appropriately.
Indie Week is growing. The energy is undeniable. Just a few years ago this was still a fairly quiet week. This year, most nights saw multiple company-sponsored cocktail events – most from the indie community – in a week already anchored by annual meetings from NMPA and AIMP, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Indie Week, along with David Israelite‘s Investor Conference. The Libera Awards are an absolute gem in the middle of all of this.
This year’s ceremony was a great community event, recognizing great music and great companies. The big winners included artists Geese and Oklou, who each took home four awards, and labels including Partisan, Mexican Summer, and True Panther.
These are not artists and companies that generally have a bigger awards stage to acknowledge them. But the growing event draws hundreds of people to New York every June, increasingly from around the globe, united in their passion for music and the yeoman’s work of independent artist development. This is by and large a room full of music heads and it feels the way your heart tells you the music industry should feel, but too often does not.
The Libera Awards is a phenomenal brand, a heartwarming and critical community event – and a massive missed opportunity to move the needle. What could possibly be cooler than a “Grammys” that isn’t corporate, political, and predictable? That brings you the best, most innovative, most creative and powerful independent artists and songs?
The Grammys are fun to hate on, but they create essential impact and breakthrough. The day following the 2026 Grammys, triple-digit percentage week-over-week growth for performers and/or winners was typical. Bad Bunny’s historic Album of the Year win more than doubled his entire catalog’s streams; Kendrick Lamar’s rap album win for GNX grew that album’s streams by more than 1,500%; Lola Young won for Messy and Billie Eilish for Wildflower – both songs more than doubled streams. I could keep going.
The Grammys are especially powerful when a relatively unknown artist nabs a win or has a moment. R&B singer Durand Bernarr’s non-televised acceptance speech for Best Progressive R&B album went viral; streams of his entire catalog were up more than 500%. Geese owned the Liberas and saw a meager 3% streaming bump in the partial chart week after the Awards, according to Luminate. Oklou – a much more niche, but absolutely deserving French dance pop darling – also won big. This could and should have been a Bernarr-like night for her. But instead, her streams actually dropped a point week over week after the show.
The Grammys drove massive engagement with a steadily-shrinking broadcast audience of only 14.4 million according to Nielsen. (Or as I might refer to it, a very slow week on TikTok for indie/DIY artist Sofia Isella.) These are attainable numbers. The Grammys drove streaming spikes with social relevance, reporting 302.5 million total video views across social media platforms, according to Nielsen Social Content Ratings. The Libera opportunity is to reach those numbers by building a groundswell. Too many in the independent community think a lack of broadcast interest is what’s holding them back, when it should be the very thing setting them free.
“It’s time for The Liberas to reinvent the very idea of an awards show.”
It’s time for The Liberas to reinvent the very idea of an awards show. Make it as creative, and innovative, and grassroots as the music and companies featured. Multiplatform by design, not by retrofit. Time shifted. Global. Fuck broadcast for now, and maybe forever. Imagine live shows pausing to patch in, engaging countless fans in clubs and arenas. Live stream from multiple continents and time zones, stitched to create a seamless viewing experience for those who want appointment viewing, but built to be clipped. Or maybe: a show that spans 24 hours, moving across time zones, a truly global independent platform. YouTube or TikTok can outbid each other as key partner, once they understand what you’re building.
Year one you’ll finally, substantially move the needle for winners and finalists. You’ll land the right brand partnerships from brands that actually want to stand for artistry, integrity, and innovation. You’ll build the right team, both in-house (very small) and out (very smart). You’ll deliver proof of concept and create real momentum.
Then? Keep building. Launch the next-generation, new model media company, with meaningful artist revenue participation. Elevate the Liberas and all they stand for – artistry and the independent ethos – through content. Once the brand and platform is established, you can expand in many directions: independent music festivals, with a true artist-friendly model; an indie music incubator for artists and companies, with proceeds from the org to support; meaningful payouts to independent artists; roll out advocacy, and possibly lobbying efforts; a true voice and a powerful, amplifying platform for independent artists.
Ten years ago, I pitched the A2IM board on a lot of the same ideas I’ve shared here. I was fresh off a nine-year stint with Billboard. When I arrived in 2005, Billboard was a dying print trade magazine, apologizing daily for a major label business that was shrinking rapidly. When I ended my time as editorial director in 2014, an incredible team had built a massive, global consumer platform in Billboard.com, launched the Billboard Music Awards, created high-profile industry events including the Women in Music gala and the Power 100 list/Grammy Week event. We did so while elevating our integrity and core industry mission, with what I’d argue was the best business journalism and analysis that Billboard had ever done.
Back then, I raised my hand to preserve what was most special about the Liberas. To translate that powerful meaning and potential into an equally powerful platform. Yet my timing was wrong. The channels of distribution hadn’t yet been democratized. Indie market share hadn’t taken off. The streaming and social channels that make this Libera vision possible today hadn’t yet matured in 2016.
Now, the timing is right. Libera means strong, visionary, independent creativity. Libera is the independent, high-integrity answer to everything that’s wrong with a decadent, financialized, corporatized, artificially intelligent music business. Public sentiment is begging for this.
I recently surveyed my students in the top-ranked Bandier music business program at Syracuse University. I closed the survey at 100 responses. More than 90% said they’d want to watch a show that honored the best new independent music every year. More than two-thirds expected to watch it not on broadcast but on YouTube or TikTok (over a third said their preferred way of watching the show would be to wait for viral clips on social media). Three-quarters said a show like this would make them more likely to discover and stream new music. And 99 out of 100 top music business students – some of the most diehard music fans you can find – either had never heard of the Libera Awards (79%) or had heard the name but “didn’t really know anything about them.”
The opportunity is screaming at you. Your care and vision over the years created an ethos and laid the foundation. Now you can build this for your artists, creating a rising tide for your member companies and ensuring A2IM’s relevance for decades to come. Or artists can unite and build it themselves. Either way, I’m raising my hand to help. Again.
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