EU funding
IMPALA is a strong advocate for increased support for culture and music in the EU’s budget.
In the context of the discussions on the 2021-2027 EU budget and recovery package, along with other organisations from the sector IMPALA has played a leading role in giving the new Creative Europe programme a significant boost and in introducing a €2.3bn cluster dedicated to creative industries under Horizon Europe, the EU’s innovation and research programme.
In September 2025, IMPALA co-signed a joint statement with 17 other European music organisations, welcoming the EC’s proposal for the future AgoraEU programme 2028-2034, calling for a comprehensive EU music strategy and an ambitious budget for AgoraEU and its Culture strand.
The programme consists of 3 strands:
• MEDIA (audiovisual) 58%
• Culture (all other sectors, including music) 33%
• Cross-sectoral strand (all sectors, with focus on cross-cutting issues & news media) 9%
The strand of most direct relevance to the music sector is the Culture strand. In total over the 2021-2027
period, the Culture strand has a budget of just over €800 million.
Culture Moves Europe, a EU mobility scheme, was launched in October 2022. Particularly focused on emerging artists, this scheme ran between 2022 and 2025. With a budget of €21m, it supported around 7,000 artists, creators and cultural professionals. You can learn more about the scheme here.
Music Moves Europe
IMPALA has actively campaigned for Music Moves Europe, the EU’s preparatory action for music, which was designed to pave the way towards more structural and targeted support for music under the new EU programmes 2021-2027. Music Moves Europe has now become the framework for the EC’s actions and initiatives in support music.
EU projects
IMPALA has also developed some EU projects.
The IMPALA Campus project, which received EU funding as part of the second edition of the Music Moves Europe preparatory action, took place in the first half of 2021. The IMPALA Campus was a business-oriented training programme for young artists and recorded music professionals to help them boost their careers through a series of classes and mentoring sessions delivered by industry experts.
In September 2022, IMPALA launched another EU project which received EU funding via the third edition of Music Moves Europe: IMPACTS, IMPALA’s Climate Training and Standards project, aims to build new climate literacy capacity for independent music companies in Europe to help them achieve a net zero carbon footprint.
In 2025, for the first time and for the period 2025-2028, IMPALA became an EU funded cultural network.
IMPALA is also involved in projects as expert. For example, IMPALA sat on the advisory board of a Music Moves Europe study on funding gaps in the music sector and a possible European music observatory. We also participate in the steering committee of the EU’s Music Moves Europe Talent Awards project.
IMPALA keeps its members updated on relevant calls and has a note on EU funding opportunities for cultural and creative SMEs available on request.
