IMPALA WELCOMES EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S DECISION TO OPEN DETAILED INVESTIGATION INTO UMG’S ACQUISITION OF DOWNTOWN, URGES FULL SCRUTINY AND BLOCKING OF DEAL
IMPALA, the European association of independent music companies representing over 6,000 independent music companies and associations, welcomes the European Commission’s decision to open a detailed investigation (phase two) into the proposed merger between Universal Music Group (UMG) and Downtown Music Holdings.
EU POLICYMAKERS URGED TO #StayTrueToTheAct TO UPHOLD THE PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPARENCY, CONSENT, AND PROTECTION OF CREATORS
Following on our previous statement, IMPALA calls on EU policy makers to #StayTrueToTheAct and uphold the principles of transparency, consent, and protection of creators, as illustrated in the video sharing ‘Sophia’s Story’.
INDEPENDENT MUSIC COMPANY CEOS AROUND THE WORLD CALL FOR END TO FURTHER ANTI-COMPETITIVE, CONSOLIDATION ATTEMPTS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
A coalition of leading European and international independent music companies and trade associations have issued an open letter to Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera at the European Commission, urging the Commission to conduct a deep investigation of Universal Music Group’s (UMG) proposed acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings. This follows a Financial Times exclusive this morning, available here.
LET CULTURE LEAD US FORWARD – EUROPEAN CULTURAL SECTOR UNITES TO CALL FOR A STRONGER CREATIVE EUROPE PROGRAMME
The European cultural sector has come together to call on the European Commission, European Parliament and Member States to reinforce the Creative Europe programme in the next EU long-term budget (MFF).
“INDEPENDENT MUSIC COMPANIES AND THE ARTISTS THEY WORK WITH AROUND THE WORLD RELY ON EUROPE’S AMBITION TO LEAD THE WAY AND INSPIRE US” – OPEN LETTER FROM WIN CEO TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE-PRESIDENT TERESA RIBERA ON UMG/DOWNTOWN DEAL
In an open letter sent to the European Commission’s Vice-President and Commissioner for Competition Teresa Ribera, WIN CEO Noemí Planas adds her voice to that of WIN’s sister organization IMPALA in Europe and our Spanish member UFi in calling for a detailed investigation into the UMG/Downtown acquisition. The eyes of the independent music community worldwide are on the EC for leadership to set the standard globally and block this acquisition outright.
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.