IMPALA CONFIRMS STRATEGIC PRIORITIES INCLUDING BOOSTING FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND STREAMING ANALYSIS
At the board meeting ahead of summer and its annual general meeting in October, IMPALA confirmed its strategic priorities and brainstormed on the questions including the current economic climate, its impact on businesses and associations in the sector, as well as streaming reform and consolidation.
IMPALA BOARD MEMBERS HOLD FIRST BLUE-SKY SESSION AS PART OF EU NETWORK PROGRAMME
As part of its overall EU Network Programme, IMPALA members held its first Blue-sky session to brainstorm on implementation of the new project so far.
“UNIMAGINABLE IN ANY OTHER SECTOR” – IMPALA’S HELEN SMITH ON PLANNED DOWNTOWN ACQUISITION
Op-ed by IMPALA’s Executive Chair Helen Smith originally released on Music Ally on 25 June 2025.
“Unimaginable in any other sector”
All markets need big companies.
And the world’s biggest music company is more than that. UMG is innovative and bullish. And a great collaborator on so many issues.
The only question is whether there is a point at which big becomes too big?
IMPALA ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF NEW ‘LABEL CAMP’ PROJECT TO BOOST CROSS-BORDER COLLABORATION AMONG INDEPENDENT MUSIC COMPANIES
IMPALA is launching a new initiative designed to foster cross-border collaboration, peer learning and capacity building among independent labels across Europe. This new ‘Label Camp’ project is part of IMPALA’s EU network programme, which co-funds certain projects, boosting the organisation’s work to reinforce the independent music ecosystem.
IMPALA / CMU Digital Forward webinar: How do you build sustainable marketing strategies beyond streaming platforms?
We’re pleased to invite you to our upcoming IMPALA x CMU webinar taking place this Friday, 27th June at 15:00 CET / 14:00 GMT, as part of our Digital Forward project, co-funded by the European Union.
Webinar title: ‘How do you build sustainable marketing strategies beyond streaming platforms?’ – Friday, 27 June – 15:00 CET / 14:00 GMT. This session will explore the findings of our newly released report: ‘Digital Marketing for Independent Record Labels PART 1 – Mastering Off-Platform Strategies’, the first publication under our Digital Forward series.
NEW REPORT OUT – IMPALA DIGITAL FORWARD: ‘DIGITAL MARKETING FOR INDEPENDENT RECORD LABELS PART 1 – MASTERING OFF-PLATFORM STRATEGIES’
IMPALA is pleased to announce the release of its very first report as part of our new Digital Forward project, co-funded by the European Union, titled: ‘Digital Marketing for Independent Record Labels PART 1 – Mastering Off-Platform Strategies’. This report explores practical approaches to off-platform marketing — marketing activities that take place outside of streaming platforms such as Spotify or Apple Music.
IMPALA WELCOMES NEWS THAT EC IS FORMALLY STARTING THE INVESTIGATION INTO UMG’S ACQUISITION OF DOWNTOWN, URGES EC TO BLOCK OUTRIGHT
The European commission has today started its formal investigation into UMG’s acquisition of Downtown, with a provisional deadline of 22nd July to reach an initial conclusion.
AI – MAKE SURE YOUR RIGHTS ARE RESERVED!
We want to stress again the importance for all IMPALA members of making sure their rights are reserved in the context of AI training/machine learning.
LEADING ECONOMIST AND FORMER REGULATOR AMELIA FLETCHER RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF DOWNTOWN MUSIC HOLDINGS BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
Former Chief Economist of the UK competition authority, as well as musician and independent music label co-founder, Professor Amelia Fletcher of the University of East Anglia, has sent a letter to the Vice President of the European Commission Teresa Ribera urging her to conduct an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS WRITE TO EC ON RAAP
Nearly five years on from the EU’s RAAP ruling, French Socialist MEP Emma Rafowicz and fellow MEPs from across the political spectrum and from various EU member states have asked Executive Vice President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen to share the EC’s timeline for clarifying conformity of the principle of reciprocity with EU law.