Nettwerk Music Group Founders Win Lifetime Achievement at 2026 Libera Awards

Terry McBride and Mark Jowett, co-founders of Nettwerk Music Group, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Libera Awards on June 8 at Gotham Hall in New York City. The recognition marks 40 years of Nettwerk operating as one of the most consequential independent music companies on the planet.

The Libera Awards, now in their 15th year, are presented by the Foundation for Independent Music and supported by A2IM. They exist specifically to celebrate excellence in the independent music sector, which makes this particular honor land differently than a mainstream industry award.

Why McBride and Jowett Matter to the Independent Music World

McBride built Nettwerk around artist empowerment long before that phrase became a talking point. He co-founded Lilith Fair, which raised over $10 million for women's charities and proved that artist-led initiatives could move real money and culture at the same time. His fingerprints are on the early digital distribution conversations that shaped how independent labels operate today.

Jowett's work sits more on the infrastructure side. He helped grow Nettwerk into a multi-division operation covering recorded music, management, and publishing. The roster he helped develop includes Sarah McLachlan, Coldplay, Avril Lavigne, Dido, and Sum 41. He also put in time at organizations like SOCAN and FACTOR, the kinds of institutions that fund and protect independent artists at the ground level.

Together, they represent a blueprint that independent artists and label operators are still studying: build artist-first, go global, and stay involved in the policy and advocacy work that actually shapes the industry.

What Else to Know About the 2026 Libera Awards

The ceremony will feature 38 categories this year, including a brand new one: independent record store of the year. That addition signals where the conversation is heading. Physical retail is back in the conversation, and the indie music world is paying attention.

Top artist nominees this year include Clipse, Hayley Williams, Oklou, Geese, and Wednesday. Performers at the show include Mdou Moctar, Valerie June, Dawn Richard, and PORCHES, three of whom are nominees themselves.

The event kicks off Indie Week, a three-day conference running June 9 through 11 at the InterContinental New York Times Square. If you work in independent music, that week is worth circling on the calendar. Tickets for the awards ceremony start at $369.70 through the A2IM site.

For independent artists building their own operations, the McBride and Jowett story is a practical reference point. They did not wait for major label infrastructure to validate their approach. They built the infrastructure, stayed independent, and ended up shaping the global industry on their own terms. That is the model. Watch how this moment gets framed at Indie Week, because the conversations that follow an honor like this tend to set the tone for where independent music is heading next.