Aiming for more awards

AIM Awards organiser Lara Baker recently asked ‘Does the music industry really need another awards show?’ in this insightful article in The Huffington Post.

Baker unsurprisingly concluded with a resounding ‘Yes’ in relation to the upcoming AIM Awards on 29 October at The Brewery venue in London. The judging panel have all returned for the second year of the awards, with Edwyn Collins set to receive the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music prize’ awarded to Bjork last year and Mute’s Daniel Miller up for the Pioneer award.

In other awards news, Jazz FM has launched the Jazz FM Awards, which will celebrate jazz musicians, composers and contributors from across the globe.

Jazz FM Chief Executive Richard Wheatly said: “The awards will celebrate everything that is great about jazz - past, present and future - is something we are hugely positive about. This annual event will help bring the music to a new audience and will create a focal point for the jazz community".

Of course, there was no mention of the ‘jazz porn’ incident earlier in the year, when Ofcom ruled that Jazz FM was in breach of broadcasting codes for apparently airing five minutes of an ‘adult feature’ in February. As far as The Gen is concerned, the AIM awards may be looking good but the question remains: Does the music industry really need another awards show?