The Independent Music Awards annual show and accompanying Indie Music Konference originally scheduled as 3-day June event in New York City, were cancelled as a result of the global pandemic.

Instead, the winners of this year’s 18th Independent Music Awards were announced April 29th on The Independent Music Awards website and other online platforms. Branded playlists on YouTube, Facebook and Spotify feature award-winning music, artist interviews and other video content from honorees and Judges created from their quarantine hide-aways around the world.

The program celebrates independent musicians, producers, labels, videographers and visual artists who follow their muse rather than metrics. And connects them to new audiences and opportunities.

Independent Music Awards honors for excellence are awarded to self-released and indie label projects –  in all styles and mediums. The most diverse awards on the planet, The Independent Music Awards recognize the remarkable achievements of established and emerging talent worldwide in 104 Album, Song, Music Video, Music for Film & TV, Producer and Visual Design categories.

Cubans David Hernandez & Enrique Alonso are among the artists from around the globe recognized this year. They won in the direction category of Long Form Music Video with the documentary film ‘Nuestro Changüí’.

Changüí is a style of Cuban music which originated in the early 19th century in Baracoa, in eastern Guantánamo Province. It arose in the sugar cane refineries and in the rural communities populated by slaves. Changüí combines the structure and elements of Spain's canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu origin. It is considered a predecessor of salsa, which enjoys tremendous popularity in Cuba and across Latin America.