News
23 September 2026 – AIM Independent Music Awards 2026 Celebrate Jorja Smith, Robyn, Pauline Black and the Independent Sector
By Editorial Team - September 23, 2026
Summary
The 2026 AIM Independent Music Awards honour Pauline Black, Fabio and Grooverider, Jorja Smith, Robyn, Jalen Ngonda, and independent record labels under the banner of 'Collective Strength'.
Key Facts
- Pauline Black received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award, while Fabio and Grooverider collected the Innovator Award.
- Jorja Smith won Best Independent Track for 'The Way I Love You', and Robyn's Sexistential was named Best Independent Album.
- Because Music took Best Independent Label, untitled (recs) won Best Boutique Label, and Jacaranda Records won Best Independent Record Store.
- Entities: AIM Awards, Jorja Smith, Robyn, Pauline Black, Fabio & Grooverider, Jalen Ngonda, Jim Legxacy, SHERELLE, Because Music, Jacaranda Records, untitled (recs)
- Tags: aim-awards, jorja-smith, robyn, pauline-black, fabio-and-grooverider, independent-music, awards
Independent music got its annual opportunity to dress up nicely and remind the wider business that it does rather a lot of the interesting work. The 2026 AIM Independent Music Awards have named their winners, with Pauline Black receiving Outstanding Contribution to Music and drum-and-bass pioneers Fabio and Grooverider collecting the Innovator Award.
Jorja Smith won Best Independent Track for "The Way I Love You", while Robyn's "Sexistential" was named Best Independent Album. Jalen Ngonda took Independent Breakthrough, Jim Legxacy won Best Independent Mixtape/EP for "black british music (2025)", and Native James was selected as One to Watch. Elsewhere, SHERELLE's remix of Romy's "Love Who You Love" collected the remix prize and Léa Esmaili's video for Thundercat's "She Knows Too Much" featuring Mac Miller won Best Independent Video.
Because Music was named Best Independent Label, untitled (recs) took Best Boutique Label and Jacaranda Records collected Best Independent Record Store. It is a useful snapshot of just how broad "independent" has become: jungle veterans, adventurous pop, emerging soul, boutique labels, record shops and people still stubbornly making careers without waiting for a giant corporation to provide permission. AIM framed this year's event around "Collective Strength", which sounds suspiciously like sensible advice for an industry where doing everything yourself eventually results in caffeine becoming a food group.