NEW REPORT OUT
IMPALA DIGITAL FORWARD: ‘DIGITAL MARKETING FOR INDEPENDENT RECORD LABELS: CAMPAIGN PLANNING, EXECUTION & MEASUREMENT’
Brussels, 18th September 2026
We are pleased to release IMPALA’s latest reports as part of our Digital Forward project, co-funded by the European Union and run in partnership with Complete Music Update. They mark the third edition of our Digital Marketing report series for Independent labels, focusing respectively on campaign planning / execution and measurement.
After looking at digital marketing off and on platform, this double feature is about how to decide what to actually do when it comes to digital marketing, and then how to assess whether or not it actually worked.
The first part of this report looks at campaign planning and execution: where planning starts, how budgets take shape, and how decisions are made about how those budgets are allocated – and how plans might change or evolve based on data. The second part explores what measurement and reporting really mean: what to track, how to set a baseline and why it matters, what attribution can and cannot tell you about marketing activity vs streaming performance, as well as what to expect from the distributors and other partners labels work with.
These reports (both available here). They follow the release of two webinars (both available here) IMPALA and CMU hosted earlier this year, namely:
Digital marketing for independent record labels: campaign planning, strategy and execution (28th May 2026)
– Maya Kalev – Stones Throw Records
– Stine Mühle – Cloud Hill Music
– Mark Orr – lab Records
Digital marketing for independent record labels: campaign effectiveness, measurement and reporting (30th June 2026)
– Christine Osazuwa (Measure of Music)
– David Percy (Idol)
– Matt Lee and Marcel Hunziker (Play live Artist)
All reports and webinars released under this project, including the first two reports and webinars of our digital marketing series (off and on platform digital marketing) can be accessed from our members’ page.
About IMPALA
IMPALA was established in 2000 and now represents over 6000 independent music companies in Europe. 99% of Europe’s music companies are small, micro and medium businesses and self-releasing artists. Known as the independents, they are world leaders in terms of innovation and discovering new music and artists – they produce more than 80% of all new releases and account for 80% of the sector’s jobs. IMPALA’s mission is to grow the independent music sector sustainably, return more value to artists, promote diversity and entrepreneurship, improve political access, inspire change, and increase access to finance. IMPALA works on a range of key issues for its members and started a new co-funded work programme as an EU cultural network in 2025. IMPALA runs various award schemes and has a programme aimed at businesses who want to develop a strategic relationship with the European independent sector – Friends of IMPALA. This year we are celebrating our 25th anniversary with a series of interviews Faces of the Independent Sector and other features, see more here.
