Folk-rock trio Daughter lead with three nominations.

The awards, now in their third year, are decided by a mixture of judging panel and public votes. Alongside the standard, ‘Best Album/Best Track/Best Live Act’, awards, there are some downright strange categories – how exactly does one determine who the ‘hardest working’ artists are? And is an award specifically for second albums not a little superfluous?

Alongside the artist awards, there are also accolades for the best independent record labels and festivals.

Leading the nominations are hip-hop collaboration Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and London folk-rockers Daughter, with three nominations apiece. 36 acts in total received nominations, alongside ten record labels, five festivals, and five individuals nominated for ‘indie champion’.

Below is the full list of nominees:

BEST LIVE ACT

• Bellowhead
• Bonobo
• Enter Shikari
• Johnny Marr
• The National

INDEPENDENT BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR

• The 1975
• Daughter
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Palma Violets
• Passenger
• Public Service Broadcasting

HARDEST WORKING BAND OR ARTIST
• Alt -J
• The Computers
• Enter Shikari
• Frankie & The Heartstrings
• Sam Lee

BEST ‘DIFFICULT’ SECOND ALBUM
• Ghostpoet – Some Say I So I Say Light
• John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts
• Major Lazer - Free The Universe
• Villagers – {Awayland}
• The xx – Coexist

INDEPENDENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR

• Daughter – If You Leave
• David Byrne & St Vincent – Love This Giant
• Ghostpoet – Some Say I So I Say Light
• Jagwar Ma – Howlin
• John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts
• Jon Hopkins - Immunity
• Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away
• Public Service Broadcasting – Inform-Educate-Entertain
• Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City
• The xx – Coexist

BEST SMALL LABEL
• Alcopop! Records
• Gringo Records
• Hyperdub
• Rocket Girl
• Too Pure Singles Club

PPL AWARD FOR MOST PLAYED NEW INDEPENDENT ACT
• The 2 Bears
• Alabama Shakes
• Alt J
• Django Django
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

SPECIAL CATALOGUE RELEASE OF THE YEAR
• Bonobo – The North Borders
• The Horrors – Higher
• Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights 10th Anniversary Edition
• Various Artists – Kenya Special
• Various Artists – Scared to get Happy: A Story of Indie Pop 1980-89

INDEPENDENT LABEL OF THE YEAR
• Bella Union
• Cooking VinylCoutts
• Matador
• [PIAS] Recordings
• Warp

INDIE CHAMPION AWARD

• Gilles Peterson – BBC 6music
• Joe Sparrow – A New Band a Day
• John Kennedy – Xfm
• Lauren Laverne – BBC 6music
• Lawrence Montgomery- Rise Music
GOLDEN WELLY AWARD FOR BEST INDEPENDENT FESTIVAL

• Hebridean Celtic Festival
• In The Woods
• LeeFest
• Truck Festival
• Y Not Festival

INDEPENDENT VIDEO OF THE YEAR

• Childhood - Solemn Skies
• David Byrne & St Vincent – WhoVevo
• Django Django - WOR
• Grimes – Genesis
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop
• The Ramona Flowers - Lust and Lies

INDEPENDENT TRACK OF THE YEAR

• Daughter – ‘Youth’
• Jagwar Ma – ‘The Throw’
• Palma Violets - ‘Best of Friends‘
• Passenger – ‘Let Her Go’
• TNGHT - ‘Higher Ground’
• Vampire Weekend – ‘Diane Young‘

Alongside the nominees, the AIM announced that Billy Bragg will receive an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis will receive the hororary Pioneer award.