IMPALA Press Release, 27th January 2010, Midem, Cannes

100 million euros in IMPALA Awards with Vampire Weekend’s ‘Contra’, the first US number one from a UK indie for 20 years, selling ¼ million in just two weeks and receiving IMPALA Diamond. Continued success for Katie Melua and The Prodigy with albums being upgraded to Multi Platinum and Double Platinum respectively.

Following up on last year’s record haul of IMPALA Awards, IMPALA announces its latest batch of European sales awards, including upgrades for Katie Melua’s Album ‘Pictures’ to Multi Platinum and The Prodigy’s Album 'Invaders Must Die' to Double Platinum. The Arctic Monkey's Album 'Humbug' and Franz Ferdinand’s Album ‘Tonight’ have now reached Diamond, while punk rock band Dead Kennedy’s celebrate twenty years of success with a Diamond award for their album ‘Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables’. Vampire Weekend’s album ‘Contra’, the first album on a UK indie label to reach number one in the US for 20 years, is the first 2010 release to receive an award reaching Diamond in just two weeks. Other IMPALA Award winners include Benjamin Biolay (France), Scooter (Germany), Medina (Denmark), Ojos de Brujo (Spain) and The Rasmus (Finland). 

The new winners include one Multi Platinum (1.5m), one Double Platinum (1m), five Diamond (250k), eleven Gold (100k) and twenty-two Silver (30k) from all across Europe.

The latest batch continues last year’s impressive trend and demonstrates impressive performance in the independent sector, especially considering the general economic downturn.

In total some 650 awards have been registered so far, representing approximately 61 million CDs sold and €1.1 billion in revenue.

About the Awards

The IMPALA Sales Awards are the only pan-European awards devoted to independent artists. They are the first awards to recognise that success on a pan-European basis needs to be acknowledged on different levels. They celebrate the fact that achievement and success begins well before 1 million (the only pan-European sales level officially recognised before IMPALA launched its own scheme).

The IMPALA Sales Awards are an extra tool for independents and their artists to market themselves internationally. IMPALA’s on-line certification system is available at www.impalamusic.org where framed awards can also be ordered.

The awards are part of IMPALA’s wider strategy to create new opportunities to promote independent music, real entrepreneurship and cultural diversity, in the face of increasing concentration.

The award levels are:
 Impala Silver                        30 000
 Impala Gold                        100 000
 Impala Diamond                  250 000
 Impala Platinum                  500 000
 Impala Double Platinum    1,000 000
 Impala Multi Platinum       1,500 000 ++
 
For more information about IMPALA please click here <http://www.impalamusic.org>

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