EU AI ACT JOINT STATEMENT FROM EUROPEAN CREATORS AND RIGHTSHOLDERS

We represent a broad coalition of over two hundred organisations in Europe’s creative and cultural sectors, encompassing authors from multiple sectors including music, visual, audiovisual, and literary; book and press publishers of newspapers, magazines and specialised publications, music, scientific and technical publishers; recorded music, film and audiovisual producers; publishers of films and audiovisual content online and offline; distributors and photo agencies.
IMPALA’S STRATEGIC PRIMER #2 (AMAZON MUSIC) Q&A SESSION (24/01)

IMPALA’s Strategic Primers’ project with Music Ally is all about maximising streaming opportunities for independents. Our Primer #2 on Amazon Music is now out.
IMPALA PARTNERS MIDEM CONFERENCE IN CANNES

IMPALA is pleased to partner MIDEM
in Cannes, the leading international music conference kicks off from the 24th – 27th January with a full schedule of discussion & networking opportunities. Come connect with industry leaders, artists, & innovators worldwide.
ESNS AND SOUNDCHARTS ANNOUNCE EMERGE: AI-POWERED PLATFORM FOR EUROPEAN SYNC MARKET

ESNS and Soundcharts proudly announce EMERGE, a ground-breaking AI project for the European music industry. The project was publicly announced today at the annual music conference and showcase festival ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), the platform for emerging European music talent.
MUSIC MOVES EUROPE 2024 AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT ESNS

The prestigious MME Grand Jury Award and the MME Public Choice Award were handed out to Zaho de Sagazan from France during the exclusive and vibrant awards ceremony, held on 18 January in Groningen, The Netherlands. Once again, the MME Awards ceremony showcased the diversity and creativity that define the European musical landscape. The other five MME Awards 2024 winners are Bulgarian Cartrader from Bulgaria, Giift from Denmark, yunè pinku from Ireland, freekind. from Slovenia and Ralphie Choo from Spain.
IMPALA WELCOMES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REPORT ON MUSIC STREAMING

IMPALA, the European association of independent music companies, welcomes the adoption today by the European Parliament of MEP Iban García del Blanco’s report on “cultural diversity and the conditions for authors in the European music streaming market.”
MERLIN ANNOUNCES ITS NEW 2024 BOARD AND WELCOMES SIX NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Merlin, the independents’ digital music licensing partner, kicks off 2024 by announcing its new Board. The new Board lineup brings leaders from the independent music industry in 12 different countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania. The Merlin Board is elected from and by its membership, which represents tens of thousands of independent record labels, distributors, and rightsholders from around the world.
AI ACT – IMPALA WELCOMES PROVISIONAL AGREEMENT

IMPALA welcomes the provisional agreement found on the EU AI Act, which requires general purpose AI models to respect EU copyright law and imposes meaningful transparency obligations on these same models.
SPOTIFY’S PROPOSAL TO REFORM STREAMING – THE VIEW FROM IMPALA MEMBERS AND THE QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED

Gathering views from members in 32 countries across the whole European music market including the EU, EFTA, UK and beyond, the IMPALA executive board has put forward a list of questions for Spotify on their plans for reforming the streaming market. IMPALA’s aim is to assist Spotify in reforming its system, in a way that benefits the independent community, including the artists of today and tomorrow.
AI ACT – AHEAD OF KEY POLITICAL MEETING, IMPALA CALLS ON EU TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE TRANSPARENCY OBLIGATIONS

A key meeting is taking place on Wednesday 6th December, where EU policymakers will try to reach a final agreement on the AI Act, the EU’s landmark proposal to regulate AI. Ahead of this meeting, the European association of independent music companies IMPALA, representing close to 6,000 music SMEs across 32 European markets, is calling on the EU institutions to support effective transparency and record keeping obligations on AI models.