{"id":106055,"date":"2025-09-24T16:41:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=106055"},"modified":"2025-09-24T16:41:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:41:02","slug":"independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 style=\"user-select: auto;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; user-select: auto;\">Independent music\u2019s biggest night returned to London for its 15th year. Find out what happened.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The AIM Independent Music Awards 2025 returned to the Roundhouse in London for its 15th anniversary, bringing together artists and labels to celebrate the strength and diversity of the independent music sector. What began as a small ceremony a decade and a half ago has grown into one of the UK industry\u2019s most anticipated events, not just rewarding creativity but spotlighting activism, innovation, and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The evening\u2019s big winners reflected the breadth of today\u2019s independent scene. Fontaines D.C. were crowned with <em>Best Independent Album<\/em> for <em>Romance<\/em>, further cementing their place as one of the UK and Ireland\u2019s most important guitar bands of the past decade. Their label, XL Recordings, also triumphed as <em>Best Independent Label<\/em>. Meanwhile, Ezra Collective and Yazmin Lacey picked up <em>Best Independent Track<\/em> for \u201cGod Gave Me Feet for Dancing,\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Industry icons were also honoured, Gilles Peterson received the <em>Outstanding Contribution to Music<\/em>, while Cosey Fanni Tutti was recognised with the <em>Innovator Award<\/em> for her decades of groundbreaking, uncompromising artistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Performances throughout the night turned&nbsp; brought the independent artist ethos to life. Rising Isle of Wight band Coach Party, fresh off a string of successful festival appearances and tours, were among them, performing two of their latest singles \u2018Disco Dream\u2019 and \u2018Girls!\u2019.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also performing was Moonchild Sanelly who injected her set with colour and charisma, weaving through the audience and turning the Roundhouse into a dancefloor, while MRCY and Ayanna Witter-Johnson added depth and variety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The night was also charged with political urgency. Many artists used their platform to highlight global issues, particularly the conflict in Palestine, with members of Fontaines D.C. and others wearing badges or carrying statements of solidarity. Protest imagery and slogans could be spotted across outfits and stage visuals, a reminder that in the independent sector, music and activism often go hand in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Closing the ceremony, AIM CEO Gee Davy spoke about the power of independence: \u201cThis is a community built on creative freedom, resilience, and innovation,\u201d she said. \u201cTonight proves once again that independent artists are setting the pace, pushing the boundaries, and shaping the future of music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.routenote.com\">Distribute your music for FREE with RouteNote!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Independent music\u2019s biggest night returned to London for its 15th year. Find out what happened. The AIM Independent Music Awards 2025 returned to the Roundhouse in London for its 15th anniversary, bringing together artists and labels to celebrate the strength and diversity of the independent music sector. What began as a small ceremony a decade and a half ago has grown into one of the UK industry\u2019s most anticipated events, not just rewarding creativity but spotlighting activism, innovation, and community. The evening\u2019s big winners reflected the breadth of today\u2019s independent scene. Fontaines D.C. were crowned with Best Independent Album for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":106056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11109],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.4.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards - RouteNote Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards - RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Independent music\u2019s biggest night returned to London for its 15th year. Find out what happened. The AIM Independent Music Awards 2025 returned to the Roundhouse in London for its 15th anniversary, bringing together artists and labels to celebrate the strength and diversity of the independent music sector. What began as a small ceremony a decade and a half ago has grown into one of the UK industry\u2019s most anticipated events, not just rewarding creativity but spotlighting activism, innovation, and community. The evening\u2019s big winners reflected the breadth of today\u2019s independent scene. Fontaines D.C. were crowned with Best Independent Album for...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cover.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emily Howarth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RouteNote\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"RouteNote\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"RouteNote Blog\",\"description\":\"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AIM-Awards-2025.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AIM-Awards-2025.png\",\"width\":1298,\"height\":790},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/\",\"name\":\"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards - RouteNote Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895\"},\"headline\":\"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":386,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AIM-Awards-2025.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Music News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895\",\"name\":\"Emily Howarth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Emily Howarth\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/emily-howarth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards - RouteNote Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards - RouteNote Blog","og_description":"Independent music\u2019s biggest night returned to London for its 15th year. Find out what happened. The AIM Independent Music Awards 2025 returned to the Roundhouse in London for its 15th anniversary, bringing together artists and labels to celebrate the strength and diversity of the independent music sector. What began as a small ceremony a decade and a half ago has grown into one of the UK industry\u2019s most anticipated events, not just rewarding creativity but spotlighting activism, innovation, and community. The evening\u2019s big winners reflected the breadth of today\u2019s independent scene. Fontaines D.C. were crowned with Best Independent Album for...","og_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/","og_site_name":"RouteNote Blog","article_published_time":"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cover.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Emily Howarth","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"RouteNote","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"RouteNote"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","name":"RouteNote Blog","description":"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AIM-Awards-2025.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AIM-Awards-2025.png","width":1298,"height":790},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/","name":"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards - RouteNote Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895"},"headline":"Independent music industry gathers in London for 2025 AIM Awards","datePublished":"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-24T15:41:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#webpage"},"wordCount":386,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AIM-Awards-2025.png","articleSection":["Music News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/independent-music-industry-gathers-in-london-for-2025-aim-awards\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895","name":"Emily Howarth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Emily Howarth"},"url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/emily-howarth\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AIM-Awards-2025.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106055"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}