The European trade body IMPALA held their board meeting in London yesterday, where they also met with AIM, the voice for the UK independent music sector. It was agreed that sector specific deals must be on the priority list for negotiators.

Dear Member of the European Parliament, We are writing following Tuesday’s vote in favour of the copyright directive.

Taking a stance has paid off. Earlier this week, the European parliament voted through important changes to copyright, amid intense negative PR.

It was a moment of truth for the IMPALA executive chair Helen Smith as she witnessed the crunch vote in Strasbourg. Here, Smith explains why Article 13 could now lead to closer co-operation between the industry and YouTube to grow the streaming economy…

The European parliament voted today to bring copyright rules up to date. 348 MEPs voted in favour, 274 against and 36 abstained.

Ahead of the European parliament vote tomorrow on reforming copyright, young and emerging musicians have recorded “Just Say Yes” to get their message across about a fair future online. The aptly named song was originally released by Snow Patrol.

The beauty of the beast – in support of the Copyright Directive
Why the copyright directive needs to be adopted now as a package
Composers and artists speak out for the first time with managers and independent sector

This opinion piece by Debbie Harry was published in The Guardian on 22 March 2019.

#YES2COPYRIGHT
More than 300 national, European and international organisations from the entire cultural sector call for adoption of Copyright Directive

Two months ahead of the European elections, a Harris Interactive poll shows that European citizens want stronger regulation of tech giants like Google and Facebook. 6,600 people were surveyed from France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania.

Europe For Creators is asking YouTube for access to the same tools YT has used to promote its own messages on the EU’s copyright directive and article 13. The request is to allow Europe For Creators to message YouTubers and place banner ads on YouTube’s network, in the same way YT has done.

IMPALA and more than 300 organisations from across the cultural and creative sectors representing authors, composers, writers, journalists, photographers as well as news agencies, audiovisual producers, book, press and music publishers, unite in calling on the European Parliament to adopt the directive on copyright in the digital single market.

Each year, IMPALA recognises a person, an organisation or an initiative whose actions had a major impact on the independent music sector. This year, the award goes to journalist Markus Tobiassen and the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv for their exceptional work investigating alleged streaming data manipulation. The award was handed out to Markus by IMPALA’s Executive Chair Helen Smith during the by:Larm music festival in Norway.

The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) has today announced its appointment of Charlie Phillips to lead the network’s operations, stepping up from his previous role as Director of Legal and Business Affairs.

Independent music companies associations and labels from across Europe met in Brussels this week to examine the text of the copyright directive agreed in trilogue.
Member state approval was also forthcoming this week, allowing the directive to now move through the final approval process in the parliament.

IMPALA and organisations from across the cultural and creative sector representing authors, composers, writers, journalists, photographers as well as news agencies, audiovisual producers, book, press and music publishers, have published the following statement calling on EU member states and the European Parliament to adopt the text of the Copyright Directive as agreed in trilogue last week.

After much debate and further changes to the text of the copyright directive, an agreement was reached in Strasbourg last night and the directive can now move to the final stages of the European legislative process. Member states now need to approve the final text as well as the European Parliament. The changes made in the trilogue discussions this week will be published soon and IMPALA understands that they will help achieve a balanced text.

2018 was a great year for European independents and it’s time to have a look at the pick of the bunch: there are no less than 18 nominees for this 9th edition of our album of the year award, showcasing once again how Europe’s independent music sector is thriving.

Today marks the official launch of RUNDA – complete name Regionalna udruga nezavisnih diskografa – the regional association of independent discographers for the Balkans, whose work and membership will cover the whole of ex-Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia) as well as Albania.

EUROPE FOR CREATORS is launching a new website and a newsletter, as part of a renewed effort to promote clarity around Article 13 of the European Copyright Directive.
The new tools set out facts. The website, www.article13.org (also available in Italian, German, Czech, French, Polish, Croatian and more to come) and the newsletter, INSIGHT 13, take a no-nonsense approach to the issue and go back to basics: What does the Directive actually say and how does the process work?

The following is a joint letter signed by 30 organisations from across the cultural and creative sectors, sent to EU member states’ research Ministries in the framework of the trilogue discussions on the EU’s future Horizon Europe programme:

We are writing to you as a group of organisations representing European authors, composers, songwriters, featured artists, picture agencies, book publishers, academic publishers, audiovisual producers and broadcasters, independent and major music producers and publishers, and news and media companies.

Following the news that Alison Wenham is stepping down at WIN, we are making the following statement thanking Alison.

IMPALA’s President Kees van Weijen took part in the “Independent Music Day” conference in Warsaw, organised by Poland’s newly established and fast-growing alliance of independent music companies, which already counts 35 members.

WINTEL 2018 is the third report produced for Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), mapping the global market share of the independent sector at copyright, rather than distribution level.

IMPALA, the European organisation of Independent music companies in Europe, congratulated Sugar Music and its team for the extraordinary achievement of a number 1 in the album charts at the same time in the USA and the UK with Andrea Bocelli’s “Si”.

YouTube’s campaign against Article 13 of the Copyright Directive shows a lack of respect for the EU democratic process of law making. The revisions to the Directive have been under discussion for over four years already and the three main institutions of the European Union have all given their position.

As things heat up again on the copyright directive, IMPALA’s Executive Chair Helen Smith speaks out. The Financial Times has given IMPALA the lead letter slot today to reply to YT’s CEO opinion piece posted in the FT earlier this week.

Dear Member of the European Parliament,

We are writing as a group of 80 organisations from across the cultural and creative sectors ahead of the plenary vote on the next EU MFF 2021-2027 on 14th November.

STOMP is delighted to give its STOMP Independent of the Year Award to Helen Smith, Executive Chair of IMPALA – the Independent Music Companies Association – in recognition of her exceptional efforts to represent the independent music sector and help it grow. The award was handed out to her by STOMP’s chairman Kees van Weijen in person yesterday during STOMP’s Annual General Meeting.

Dear Members of the European Parliament,

We are writing as a group of 59 organisations from across the cultural and creative sectors ahead of today’s vote of the Budget committee on the next EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027.

Sony’s move from joint to sole control of EMI Music Publishing has been approved today by the European regulator. This take-over allows Sony to double its catalogue of songs (from 2.16m to 4.21m compositions).

Analysis of national music charts for 2017 carried out across key European countries raises further concerns about the true impact of Sony’s take-over of EMI Music Publishing. Control of national charts is the test the EC uses when it examines mergers in the music market.

Following key recommendations on Brexit debated by IMPALA and other cultural organisations in Brussels last week, further IMPALA discussions will take place on implementation for the music sector at IMPALA’s AGM on 5 October. Hosted by the Finnish independent labels association Indieco, IMPALA’s AGM will take place at Music and Media conference in Tampere.

Sony’s intended take over of EMI Music Publishing has been notified to the European Commission, who now has until the 26th of October to make an initial assessment. Precedents set by the Commission in 2012, when it ruled that divestments were required for Sony to become a minority shareholder, suggest that Sony’s attempt to take over EMI completely will be met with stiff opposition and a detailed Phase 2 investigation.

Today, the nominees for the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards were announced at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany. This brand new annual music prize celebrates emerging artists who represent the European sound of today and tomorrow. All winners will be presented at the award ceremony during the opening night of ESNS 2019.

Member of the European Parliament Giorgos Grammatikakis calls for the doubling of the funding for Creative Europe and for securing dedicated funding for “Music Moves Europe” in his report on the New European Agenda for Culture.

The European Parliament voted today to move ahead on copyright reform. The whole directive was adopted by a clear majority of 438 votes for, 226 against and 39 abstentions.

The following MBW blog comes from Helen Smith (pictured), Chair of European independent music trade body IMPALA.

In a recent article for POLITICO — “For artists, internet platforms are less threat than opportunity” (September 9) — the founder of the Fugees, Wyclef Jean, argues that those seeking to rewrite copyright laws want to “tear down the internet.”

What you need to know about the copyright proposal in 10 keys.

Today sees the launch of the #EuropeForCreators campaign in support of a fair and sustainable internet for creators, ahead of a new vote in the European Parliament on copyright.

Independent music companies have made a pre-emptive strike to oppose Sony’s attempt to gain sole control of EMI Music Publishing. IMPALA confirms today that it has lodged concerns with the European Commission about the transaction, which it describes as “seismic’.

IMPALA is a proud member of a unique alliance of European music industry partners supporting new music talent. The Music Moves Europe Talent Awards are the new European Union Prize for popular and contemporary music implemented by ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag).

The European parliament decided today to move to full debate in plenary on copyright reform. The next step will give parliamentarians more time to reach a decision in the parliament’s next plenary session in September.

We represent 4.5% of EU GDP and 12 million European jobs. We are the heart and soul of Europe’s plurality and rich identities. On July 5 we ask for you to back the mandate adopted by JURI on 20 June which is the result of long and intense negotiations.

Dear Member of the European Parliament,

People have never enjoyed as much music as we do today. All music from all time is available at our fingertips. Young artists are exploring the frontiers of pop, rap, R&B, grime, jazz, electronica, rock, classical, punk and soul, while fans share the experience online, at gigs and festivals.

In Europe, cultural & creative sectors account for 7 million jobs and €509 billion in GDP.
Reinforcing them is an astute move as they won’t be relocating anywhere.

Open letter to all members of the European Parliament ahead of the plenary vote on copyright on 5th of July.

IMPALA is the European association of independent music companies. We have 4,000 members across Europe and a keen interest in the topic of today’s breakfast discussion.

Today a great step was taken toward addressing the now famous “value gap” which has been plaguing the music sector for years.

This article was first published in Midem blog. It is part of a series of interviews ahead of Midem 2018’s Global Indie Voices sessions, in association with IMPALA.

Today, the European Commission presented its proposal for the post-2020 Creative Europe programme for cultural and creative sectors.

This article was first published in Midem blog. It is part of a series of interviews ahead of Midem 2018’s Global Indie Voices sessions, in association with IMPALA.

Today, 24th May 2018, Merlin celebrates its tenth anniversary as global digital rights agency for the independent label sector with the announcement of three key new hires; Marta de la Hoz joins as Head of Reporting, Chaida Kapfunde as Head of Technology & Development, and Quentin Martins as Member Operations Manager.

As news broke this morning of Sony’s intention to buy out most of its partners in EMI Music Publishing, independent music companies warn that the move will face regulatory opposition because it would stifle competition online and offline.

Yesterday, the European Commission presented its proposed budget for the European Union for 2021-2027.

New proposed legislation was published today, as part of the EU’s bid to ensure Europe’s digital market functions properly.

Today, IMPALA and 66 organisations from across Europe’s cultural and creative sectors sent an open letter to the EU institutions urging them to give a significant boost to the EU budget dedicated to culture.

“In My Head” by German duo Gurr released on Duchess Box records, has won IMPALA’s prestigious annual album prize.

Letter to EU parliamentarians involved in this week’s discussions in Strasbourg about the “Value Gap” provisions (Article 13) in proposed new copyright legislation.

For the 8th edition of the IMPALA European Album of the Year Award, 22 acts are nominated from 19 different countries. The winner will succeed Danish solo artist Agnes Obel.

The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), the organisation that represents the interests of the global independent music community, has announced a new initiative to add to the signatories of the 2014 Fair Digital Deals Declaration.

With today’s release of the Recommendation on measures to effectively tackle illegal content online, the European Commission endorses a principled approach that will further guide Member States and intermediaries in identifying and addressing illegal content online, including infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR).

Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), the organisation headed by Alison Wenham that represents the interests of the global independent music community, has appointed Beggars Group Founder Martin Mills to the position of Chair.

Europe is the second largest “cultural and creative industry” market in the world, accounting for over 7 million jobs and 4% of Europe’s GDP. And we believe they could achieve much more with a new strategy in Europe.

Yesterday, the music sector was gathered at the invitation of the European Commission to mark the official launch of the Preparatory Action “Music Moves Europe”, a pilot project that could be the first step toward a fully-fledged music programme to start in 2021 as part of the next generation of EU programmes. You can see below some highlights of the event.

IMPALA and other organisations from across the music sector welcome a new pilot programme for music in Europe and urge the EU to support a full European Music Programme in its future budget.

With a fast growing membership from the Balkans, IMPALA was at the MENT music festival and international conference this weekend for the first IMPALA board meeting in the region and a series of keynotes and panel discussions. Helen Smith (IMPALA’s Executive Chair) also gave an interview to the prominent Slovenian outlet Dnevnik, which was published on the 5th of February.

Ex-Yugoslavia is seeing the rise of a new kind of music entrepreneur. These numerous and ambitious record labels operate in territories with their very own specificities, from majors being represented by local indies to limited access to streaming platforms. The challenges are numerous and treacherous, yet this new breed of music labels is marching into the future with high hopes. It’s time to discover what their day-to-day reality looks like.

Helen Smith is head of IMPALA, the Independent Music Companies Association, which represents over 4000 small music companies and associations. It’s her job to influence the European Union on topics such as copyright and piracy from the independents‘ perspective, as well as doing deals with big companies on behalf of smaller players.

It was announced today that the EU is assigning an additional €60m to a key initiative for a guarantee facility to boost loans to smaller actors in the cultural sector. The announcement was made as part of the ‘Juncker Plan’, also known as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

Today, the European Parliament adopted the Preparatory Action “Music Moves Europe: Boosting European music diversity and talent”.

London, October 23rd 2017 –. WINTEL 2017 is the second report produced for Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), mapping the global market share of the independent sector at copyright, rather than distribution level.

Labels Declare Their Independence!
A 35% increase in this year’s attendance demonstrates the growing interest and curiosity of the public for independent music.

Today a wide range of organisations from across the cultural and creative sectors wrote to MEP Axel Voss, Rapporteur on the proposal for a Directive on copyright to ask him to support a meaningful legislative solution to address the value gap.

IMPALA’s Outstanding Contribution to Independent Music Award goes this year to Swedish national Jonas Sjöström, acknowledging his crucial role in the development of Scandinavian independent music. He joins a list of recipients including Martin Mills (Beggars Group), Mario Pacheco (founder of Nuevos Medios and the UFI), Charles Caldas (MERLIN) and Armin van Buuren (Armada Music).

Today, the European Commission published its communication on “Tackling Illegal Content Online: Towards an enhanced responsibility of online platforms”. We welcome the Commission’s stance that “what is illegal offline is also illegal online” – this is paramount to the protection of intellectual property and copyright in particular. We also agree that online platforms “carry a significant societal responsibility in terms of protecting users online and preventing criminals from exploiting their platforms.”

At its Annual General Meeting in Hamburg at the Reeperbahn Festival on September 22nd, IMPALA elected a new Board. The 27 members will serve for a mandate of two years and include three new Board Members: Lampshade Media, Kobalt Music Recordings, and Sugar Music.

In a landmark day for independent music, Merlin, the global digital rights agency for the independent label sector, has announced its billionth dollar in distributions.

This morning the European Parliament inched closer to new copyright legislation in Europe. Opinions were adopted by two of the committees reviewing the proposal, one responsible for culture and the other looking after industry matters.

Representing 1,2 million jobs, the European music industry is growing at a fast pace and holds untapped potential that can be optimized through a tailor-made funding programme at EU level.

Ottawa, Canada and London, UK, 28th June 2017 – In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada has today issued a judgment confirming that Canadian courts have the power to compel search engines to take effective action to remove illegal sites from their search results both in Canada and worldwide.

8th June, New York: – Merlin, the global digital rights agency for the independent label sector, has today unveiled results of their 2017 member survey at A2IM’s annual meeting.

As part of its partnership with Midem, IMPALA hosted two panels in Cannes this year to showcase the diversity of independent music in Europe, one focussing on European young labels and the other on the Balkan emerging music scene.

IMPALA and 20 other organisations representing companies and associations of right holders active across Europe have written a cross-sectoral letter to urge the Council and the Commission to fully exclude intangible digital content and audiovisual services from the scope of the Geo-blocking Regulation.

The European Commission published today the mid-term review of one of its top priorities, the digital single market. The report evaluates the progress made at the midpoint and sets out some new policies.

Spotify, the leading global music streaming service, and Merlin, the global digital rights agency for the independent label sector, today announced a new multi-year license agreement – ensuring the world’s leading independent record labels and their artists will remain at the core of Spotify’s offering to music fans.

The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), the organisation that represents the interests of the global independent music community and of which IMPALA is a member, has unveiled a comprehensive new study, which provides the first ever global overview of chart reporting.

Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel is the winner of this year’s IMPALA European Independent album of the year award with her album Citizen of Glass. She succeeds artists such as Caribou, José Gonzalez, Adele or The xx.

IMPALA has now revealed its shortlist of nominees for the seventh edition of the IMPALA Album of the Year Award. Once again the selection underlines the diversity and quality of independent labels from all over Europe. 25 albums are nominated and nineteen countries are represented this year.

The European Parliament adopted today a report calling on the European Commission to develop a “comprehensive, coherent and long-term industrial policy framework for the cultural and creative sectors”.

Since October 2015, the “Plus 1 – Refugees welcome!” campaign has been collecting donations in Berlin’s nightlife for aid projects for refugees. In recognition of the initiative and as an encouragement for similar campaigns in Europe, IMPALA Executive Chairwoman Helen Smith presented the campaign with the Outstanding Contribution Award 2016 in Berlin yesterday. This is only the second time a project has won this award after Label Love (UK) in 2011.

IMPALA shares its views on the EC’s proposal for a new Directive on copyright, published today. Part of a wider strategy to reinforce Europe’s digital market, this proposal covers a range of sectors, including music where independent companies are at the forefront.

Today the European Commission has decided to clear Sony’s buyout of the late Michael Jackson estate’s shares in Sony/ATV.

This decision follows a preliminary investigation during which the Commission examined the views of customers and competitors.

After a busy period for the cultural and creative sectors, we’re looking forward to the summer break. Yet we’re well aware that some people in Brussels will still be hard at work, putting the final touches to the Commission’s plans for its second package of copyright-related proposals.

As the European Commission reaches a key stage in its investigation into Sony’s buy out of the Michael Jackson estate’s shares in Sony/ATV, independent music companies renew their call for a tough stance to be taken.

This is the final edition of the FIVEUNDERFIFTEEN campaign showcasing top labels 15 years young or younger. Since the beginning of the campaign in March, each month five European young labels are featured in The Independent Echo but this month’s selection is unique because it includes an additional label from the United States.

Over 1,000 artists (update: new signatories have been added, the list now numbers almost 1,300 artists) have written to EU President Juncker asking him to close what is known as the “value gap” (see letter and list of artists here). Artists across the world are increasingly vocal about YouTube and other platforms “siphoning value”.