Thaddeus Rudd, the co-owner and co-President of one of the world’s best respected indie labels, Mom+Pop Music, will present the closing keynote address at AIR’s Indie-Con Australia conference.

Rudd will share the story of Mom + Pop, from its small beginnings in 2008, to how it became the support system in the US for acts like Flume, Courtney Barnett, Tash Sultana, Jai Wolf, Alina Baraz and Sunflower Bean.

Thaddeus Rudd

Taking place across Thursday 25 and Friday 26 July at LOT FOURTEEN in Adelaide, Indie-Con Australia will also see Helen Smith, Executive Chair of IMPALA, host the opening keynote address. Smith will address the work of IMPALA and its ongoing efforts to grow the independent music sector.

Helen Smith, Executive Chair of Impala

The two-day conference will explore topics such as synchronisation and music publishing, video and gaming, mental health in the music industry, the future of the label, and insights into China.

Alongside the conference’s announcement today are the nominees for the annual AIR Awards, which acknowledges the outstanding and inspiring talent of independent artists.

The 2019 AIR Award nominees are:

BEST INDEPENDENT ARTIST
COURTNEY BARNETT
GURRUMUL
JULIA JACKLIN
LAURA JEAN
METHYL ETHEL

BEST INDEPENDENT ALBUM OR EP
COURTNEY BARNETT – TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL
EMMA LOUISE – LILAC EVERYTHING
GURRUMUL – DJARIMIRRI
LAURA JEAN – DEVOTION
ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER – HOPE DOWNS

BEST INDEPENDENT SINGLE
A.B. ORIGINAL – BLACCOUT
COURTNEY BARNETT – NAMELESS, FACELESS
G FLIP – ABOUT YOU
LAURA JEAN – GIRLS ON THE TV
MOJO JUJU – NATIVE TONGUE

BREAKTHROUGH INDEPENDENT ARTIST OF THE YEAR – PRESENTED BY PPCA
CONFIDENCE MAN
DIDIRRI
EMILY WURRAMARA
G FLIP
HATCHIE

BEST INDEPENDENT HIP HOP ALBUM
B WISE – AREA FAMOUS
COOL OUT SUN – COOL OUT SUN
MILWAUKEE BANKS – NO TIME
SPACE INVADAS – WILD WORLD
TASMAN KEITH – MISSION FAMOUS

BEST INDEPENDENT COUNTRY ALBUM
BECCY COLE – LIONESS
HALFWAY – RAIN LOVER
LACHLAN BRYAN AND THE WILDES – SOME GIRLS (QUITE) LIKE COUNTRY MUSIC
THE WOLFE BROTHERS – COUNTRY HEART
WILLIAM ALEXANDER – THE KID FROM BOURKE

BEST INDEPENDENT BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM
DAN SULTAN – KILLER UNDER A BLOOD MOON
EMILY WURRAMARA – MILYAKBURRA
GARBRIELLA COHEN – PINK IS THE COLOUR OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
JOHN BUTLER TRIO – HOME
MIA DYSON – IF I SAID ONLY SO FAR I TAKE IT BACK

BEST INDEPENDENT HARD ROCK, HEAVY OR PUNK ALBUM
CAMP COPE – HOW TO SOCIALISE & MAKE FRIENDS
DZ DEATHRAYS – BLOODY LOVELY
HIGH TENSION – PURGE
LITTLE UGLY GIRLS – LITTLE UGLY GIRLS
WEST THEBARTON – DIFFERENT BEINGS BEING DIFFERENT

BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE/ELECTRONICA 
ALBUM OR EP
BRAILLE FACE – LIGHTLETTING
CONFIDENCE MAN – CONFIDENT MUSIC FOR CONFIDENT PEOPLE
NINA LAS VEGAS ­– LUCKY GIRL
PACES – ZAG
TOTAL GIOVANNI – EUPHORIA

BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE, ELECTRONICA OR CLUB SINGLE
DOM DOLLA – TAKE IT
FISHER – LOSING IT
HERMITUDE – STUPID WORLD FEAT. BIBI BOURELLY
ODD MOB – INTRINSIC
WHAT SO NOT – BEAUTIFUL (FEAT. WINONA OAK)

BEST INDEPENDENT JAZZ ALBUM
HARRY JAMES ANGUS – STRUGGLE WITH GLORY
JAMES MORRISON/WILLIAM MORRISON/HARRY MORRISON/PATRICK DANAO – MIDNIGHT TILL DAWN
JONATHAN ZWARTZ – ANIMARUM
MILDLIFE – PHASE

BEST INDEPENDENT CLASSICAL ALBUM
ACO COLLECTIVE – COLLECTIVE WISDOM
GRIGORYAN BROTHERS/ADELAIDE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/BENJAMIN NORTHEY – BACH CONCERTOS
GURRUMUL – DJARIMIRRI
NICOLE CAR/AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA/RICHARD TOGNETTI –  HEROINES

AIR members receive complimentary entry to the Indie-Con Australia conference as well as the AIR Awards. Click here to find out if you qualify to become an AIR member. General admission tickets are now on sale.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.