IMPALA’S POSTCARD FROM EUROPE 2026
It’s IndieWeek time in New York, congratulations to Ian Harrison and Lisa Hresko for their first edition as A2IM’s CEO and COO. Come and find us IMPALA at the A2IM AGM, at WINHUB and the Libera awards as well as at the conference.
CURATED MUSIC APP CANTILEVER CLOSES £250,000 PRE-SEED FUNDING ROUND WITH INVESTMENT AND BACKING FROM LEADING INDEPENDENT LABELS
a group of independent music companies and record labels have come together to back music app start-up Cantilever. The support package includes investment of £250,000 from twenty investors, made up of independent record labels and individual investors from those labels.
UNIVERSAL SELLS CURVE ROYALTY SYSTEMS TO MERLIN AND MATT SPETZLER’S JAMEN CAPITAL
As part of the European Commission’s conditions for approving Universal Music Group’s acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings, Curve Royalty Systems has to be sold and news in today is that UMG has agreed a sale with Merlin and Matt Spetzler’s Jamen Capital, ensuring the royalty platform returns to independent ownership.
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR AN INDEPENDENT AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM – KEY REPORT BY DAN FOWLER NOW AVAILABLE IN 6 LANGUAGES
Originally published in English earlier this year, WIN is now making the Executive Summary available in 5 additional languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean) so that trade associations, independent music businesses, and stakeholders worldwide can use it to advocate for targeted regulation and sector collaboration.
MUSIC SECTOR WELCOMES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S AGORAEU DRAFT REPORT
IMPALA co-signed the following statement, signed by 26 European music organisations, welcoming the draft European Parliament report on AgoraEU proposing to introduce a dedicated music strand.
TO KICK OFF EU GREEN WEEK, IMPALA’S SUSTAINABILITY TASK FORCE NAMES FÉLIN’S RECORD RECYCLING INITIATIVE, REDISCO, AS ITS SUSTAINABILITY ORGANISATION WITH A CAUSE
Through our Organisation with a Cause scheme – co-funded by the European Union through our EU network grant – IMPALA’s sustainability task force is proud to collaborate with FÉLIN-led record recycling initiative, ReDisco.
TO CLOSE EUROPEAN DIVERSITY MONTH, ANDREA LACROIX TALKS ABOUT EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AS FUNDAMENTAL !K7 VALUES AND HOW THIS WORK ALSO HELPS ATTRACT TALENT AND ENGAGE FANS IN THE LATEST EDITION OF IMPALA’S ‘FACES OF THE INDEPENDENT SECTOR’
As part of IMPALA’s Faces of the Independent Sector storytelling series, co-funded by the European Union, and celebrating our 25th anniversary, we are publishing the sixth interview in the series with Andrea Lacroix, Head of Sync and Licensing at !K7 Music.
POPKOLLO RECEIVES IMPALA’S 2026 CHANGEMAKER AWARD FOR SUPPORTING GIRLS AND TRANS YOUTH IN MUSIC
IMPALA is excited to announce that the winner of its 2026 Changemaker Award is Popkollo, a Swedish organisation that runs music camps and activities for girls and trans youth. The camps are mainly targeted at 10 to 18 year olds, but are also open to women and trans people over 18.
WIN WELCOMES COLOMBIAN TRADE ASSOCIATION ALDISCO
Alianza de Discográficas Independientes de Colombia (ALDISCO) has officially joined the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), the global network of trade associations that represent thousands of independent music businesses worldwide.
DIGITAL FORWARD WEBINAR: 28TH MAY – DIGITAL MARKETING FOR INDEPENDENT RECORD LABELS: CAMPAIGN PLANNING, STRATEGY & EXECUTION
Join the next Digital Forward webinar from CMU and IMPALA where we will explore how independent labels can leverage streaming platform tools to market releases.