As we celebrate 20 years of the American Association of Independent Music this week, we’re reminded of the true meaning of independence—and how deeply that spirit lives in the work we all do together.
Over the past year, A2IM has been proud to champion the voice of the independent music community across the U.S. Here are just a few milestones we’ve achieved together:
✊ Advocacy on Capitol Hill: We’ve continued fighting for fairer policies on behalf of independent rights holders, ensuring your voices are heard at the national level, including the NO FAKES Act, AMFA, ELVIS Act, and, as of July 2025, we've made a major breakthrough with the long-championed HITS Act passing in Congress.
💡 Education & Resources: From Indie Week to our webinar series, we’ve provided essential industry insights to help independent professionals and their businesses thrive.
🤝 Community Building: Through regional meetups, our Mentorship Program, and strategic partnerships with beatdapp, beatBread, Muzooka, Luminate and more, we’ve grown a stronger, more connected indie ecosystem.
🏆 Awards & Recognitions: A2IM was named one of WIM’s 2025 Best Places to Work by the nonprofit organization Women in Music. In 2024, A2IM received the President’s E-Star Award for the second time, recognizing A2IM’s contributions to the expansion of U.S. exports.
🎶 Independent Radio Charts: In 2025, A2IM launched the Independent, College, and Non-Commercial Radio Charts in partnership with Muzooka, built to showcase the wide-reaching independent communities that A2IM represents and marking the first time these types of charts are based on fully-independent releases.
🌟 A2IM Star Certification: This June, in partnership with Luminate we launched the A2IM Star Certification, a first-of-its-kind sales recognition program for the independent music sector recognizing retail success based on album equivalent activity.
🎤 Independent Artist Showcase: This June, we partnered with the Recording Academy to co-host the first-ever GRAMMY House Independent Artist Showcase in New York City!
As we look to the second half of the year, we invite you to take the next step in building community and honoring your own milestones:
👉 Submit for A2IM Star Certification – and be among the first to be recognized by the first-of-its-kind sales recognition program created exclusively for the independent sector. [Submit Here]
👉 Apply for A2IM’s Mentor Program – to gain and offer valuable insights from peers within our community! The next cycle of applications will be open from August 15 through September 12, 2025. [Learn More] The current cycle is active and applications are currently closed.
👉 Host an A2IM Indiescussion Webinar – to introduce your company to the larger A2IM community in an educational and informative setting. Email: membership@a2im.org
👉 Sign up for A2IM Trade Missions – to expand your international network, be on the lookout for upcoming announcements of A2IM-led delegations to international conferences this fall!
👉 Celebrating a company anniversary this year? – then you should let us know! Join our A2IM Member Anniversary Spotlight series to share the news with our community. [Submit Here]
This Independence Day, we thank you for being part of a community that values creativity, ownership, and, of course, independence. Together, we’re reshaping the future of independent music—louder and stronger than ever.
Sincerely,
Team A2IM
Alex, Laura, Chirag, Emmaline, Richard, Lisa, Nicolle, Kodi and Jasmine
Team A2IM at the 2025 Libera Awards (named in order above)
Photo by Dan Bassini
