New York Times reports on 9th IMA Judge, Auturo O' Farill

"The Senate may not have confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the newest Supreme Court justice, but Symphony Space and Arturo O’Farrill, the jazz musician, seem confident. The performance space has joined with the Bronx Museum of the Arts and R. D. Rice Construction Inc. to commission a piece by Mr. O’Farrill to be performed by his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra honoring Judge Sotomayor, a Bronx native, the orchestra’s publicist said in a release....."

Read the full New York Times article here.

Submit Your Music Videos To The Independent Music Awards To Reach Millions Of Fans & Industry

The airwaves and Internet are cluttered with killer songs and great visuals, so how do artists get seen and heard above the noise? For the past 9 years independent artists and labels from around the world have found new fans and prominence through The Independent Music Awards.

Adding to a broad spectrum of awards in more than 50 music genre and design categories, The 9th IMA program will augment its established Music Video category with awards for Long Form Music Video to support achievements for presentations that feature more than one song.

Past IMA music video winners and nominees include both signed and unsigned artists including:
Val Emmich (“The Only One Lonely”), Leerone (“Care For Some Whiskey?”) from South Africa, The Parlotones, Barcelona’s The Pinker Tones (“Karma Hunters”), Skitchy (Tiny Little Freaks) from the UK, Korean artist, Jihae (“Black Pearl); inde label acts include Epitaph’s The Matches (“Yankee in a Chip Shop”) and Astonish Records’ No More Kings (“Sweep the Leg”).

IMA Judge Bettye LaVette Releases New Album

9th Annual IMA Judge Bettye LaVette has released a 6-song digital EP, A Change is Gonna Come Sessions, on iTunes.


Having conquered the ghosts of a hard-luck past on her GRAMMY-nominated CD The Scene of the Crime, BETTYE LAVETTE shines a new light on that past with her latest, A CHANGE IS GONNA COME SESSIONS. The digital-only EP for Anti- Records, available exclusively through iTunes starting June 16, revisits BETTYE's forgotten post-Atlantic Records years as a nightclub singer, Broadway performer, and touring cast member opposite Cab Calloway in "Bubbling Brown Sugar."

The EP opens with a stirring solo version of Sam Cooke's posthumous Civil Rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come," a song which BETTYE sang with Jon Bon Jovi in January as part of the "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" concert. Joining BETTYE for these Sessions are pianist and musical director Al Hill, veteran bassist John Heard – who has accompanied such luminaries as Count Basie, Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, and Art Pepper – drummer Danny Frankel (k.d. lang, Lou Reed), and Tom Hagerman from DeVotchKa on strings.

Click here to get the tunes.

And watch Bettye perform on Craig Ferguson below!

9th Annual IMA Judge DJ Spooky Featured In The New York Times

Paul D. Miller's (DJ Spooky)film, Rebirth of a Nation, is running this week at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Read the full New York Times review here.

She & Him, The Black Keys, Mark Hoppus, Aimee Mann and Bettye LaVette Join Judging Panel For The 9th Annual Independent Music Awards

Honors For Love Song, Eclectic Album & Concept Album Added to Program

May 26, 2009 The Independent Music Awards (IMAs) announced today the first group of influential industry veterans who will determine the winners of the 9th annual IMAs, currently accepting submissions.

The list, comprised of stellar solo artists, top duo and large acts and founding members of seminal bands includes: Aimee Mann, Shelby Lynne, Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky, Bettye LaVette, Jonatha Brooke, Suzanne Vega, Judy Collins, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward
(She & Him), Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney (The Black Keys); the brothers Zac, Isaac and Taylor Hanson of Hanson; the members of The Apples in stereo (and 7th IMA Pop/Rock-Song Winners) Eric Allen, Bill Doss, John Dufilho and John Ferguson; Mark Hoppus (Blink 182),
Dennis Diken (The Smithereens), Butch Walker and Brian "Head" Welch (Korn) are among the impressive line-up of
IMA judges.

For a complete list of 9th Annual Independent Music Award Judges, go to IndependentMusicAwards.com/Judges

Artistry Has Its Awards

The Independent Music Awards the awards program for independent artists and fans, is a prestigious international program that helps top-ranked artists and releases reach new markets via promotion, distribution and performance opportunities that place them in front of millions of Fans, Programmers, Talent Buyers, Film, TV & Gaming Music Supervisors, Press and other industry gatekeepers.

The IMAs supports artists who broaden the definition of commercial success & represent the diversity of the global Indie scene. The program honors artists with previous major label releases as well as artists that have only self-released or appeared on indie labels.

Past winners and nominees include: Koko Taylor, Martin Sexton,
Jamie Lidell, The Apples In Stereo, Lacuna Coil, God Forbid,
Sweet Honey In The Rock, Jeff Healey, Denque Fever,
Joan As Police Woman, Twilight Hotel, Speech Mary Gauthier,
Jennifer Nettles, Girl In A Coma, Marco Benevento, Tannis Slimmon and Dan Zanes.

Adding to an already broad spectrum of music and design categories, awards added to this year’s program include: Story Song, Love Song, Concept Album and Eclectic.

Submissions for the 9th annual Independent Music Awards program must be received by Friday, August 21, 2009 to be considered for the upcoming program.

Program details and entry forms are available at IndependentMusicAwards.com, Sonicbids.com/IMA2009 and in the 2009 edition of the industry contact directory, The Musician’s Atlas which is currently on sale.

In addition to IMA sponsored showcases throughout the year, a full-day celebration of independent talent showcasing past and current IMA artists is scheduled for February 2010 in New York City.

For more information please contact:
Joelle Caputa [joelle@IndependentMusicAwards.com] 973-767-1816 or Lauren Veteri [Lauren@IndependentMusicAwards.com] 973-767-1818.