The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

established in 2000 to help European

independent record labels An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represent ...

represent their agenda and promote independent music. Its offices are in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium. IMPALA is a member of the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), a coalition of independent music bodies from countries throughout the world.

History

IMPALA was founded in 2000 by national trade associations and key independent labels, as a

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to

small and medium-sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...

in the music industry. In 2008 an ''Action Plan for Music'' was launched and in 2010 an ''Action Plan for Finance'' was published. In January 2015, IMPALA launched its ''Digital Action Plan'', a ten-point plan calling for a new European industrial policy to drive the digital market through the cultural and creative sectors. The action plan calls on the EU to reinforce

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

, and other key measures, including promoting diversity in a measurable way and devising a new regulatory, competition, social and fiscal framework for smaller actors. To celebrate IMPALA's 15th anniversary, from September 2015 various initiatives took place across Europe under the "IMPALA 15" banner, such as the Reeperbahn Festival at

Hamburg, Germany (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. In March 2016, IMPALA launched a monthly feature to put the spotlight on Europe's most inspiring young independent labels, known as the Young Label Spotlight. On 24 September 2018, Paul Pacifico, CEO of the UK's

Association of Independent Music The Association of Independent Music (AIM) is a non-profit trade body established in 1998 by UK independent record labels to represent the independent record sector, which in 2016 constituted approximately 23% of the UK market. Its members incl ...

and Michel Lambot, co-founder and Co-President of the

PIAS Group PIAS is a British recording, licensing, distribution, sales and marketing company for independent music. The company was founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot in Brussels, Belgium,

, co-represented IMPALA, the body representing European indie record labels, at the expert workshop organised by the

Centre for Fine Arts The Centre for Fine Arts (french: Palais des Beaux-Arts, nl, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or PSK in Dutch. The b ...

in Brussels (BOZAR), the

European Cultural Foundation The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) is a Netherlands-based independent cultural foundation. Its mission is to “make a tangible impact on civil society, citizen initiatives, public opinion and policy proposals to combat the fragmenting forces ...

and the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

about

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...

and the cultural sector. The goal was "to reaffirm our shared intent and common values, and to produce practical recommendations from the cultural and creative sectors that go beyond those that have already been made", and a list of recommendations was afterwards published on the IMPALA website. As part of its role of representing independent music companies at EU level, IMPALA was involved in the discussions on the EU Copyright Directive, and is working on competition issues such as

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

's buyout of EMI in 2018, or more recently the sale of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

's shares. In 2019 IMPALA acknowledged the climate emergency and committed to making the independent sector ecologically sustainable and regenerative, as well as using its voice to support Music Declares Emergency in Brussels. In 2020, IMPALA established a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

Task Force and adopted a crisis plan, mapping tool and recovery package, as well as a set of second stage recommendations, helping culture to be recognised as one of Europe's fourteen priority sectors for recovery in the EU. In October 2020 IMPALA adopted a Diversity and Inclusion Charter, a set of commitments dedicated to the European independent sector. In November 2020, The organisation announced a year long series of podcasts, playlists and other projects to celebrate IMPALA's 20th birthday on a dedicated blog page. In March 2021, IMPALA launched IMPALA Campus, an EU-funded training programme for recorded music professionals and self-releasing artists taking place spring and summer 2021 in partnership with four leading music conferences across Europe. On 23 March 2021, IMPALA released a paper “It’s Time to Challenge the Flow: How to make the most of the real opportunities of streaming” and a ten-point plan with recommendations to music services to reform streaming. The IMPALA sustainability task force developed a sustainability programme which was published in April 2021. The programme includes European independent music sector carbon goals for 2026 (

net zero Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...

) and 2030 (net positive), along with a 15-commitment climate charter, voluntary tools, tips and guidance for members of the association. In July 2021, IMPALA and IAO released a proposal for a GECAT Pass (for Geographical European Cultural Area Touring), with the idea to get small and medium sized music tours back on the road quickly and efficiently. The approach involves creating a new cultural area with a single touring permit, instead of treating Europe as a number of distinct blocs and countries. In March 2022, IMPALA made a statement on the war in Ukraine and has been encouraging support for the Ukrainian culture sector together with other European cultural associations. On 29 March 2022, IMPALA launched a new programme to boost diversity in the European independent music sector in partnership with YouTube called “100 Artists to Watch”. This new programme replaces IMPALA’s annual European Independent Album of the Year Award, which had a great roll of 10 years. In April 2022, the association and Julie’s Bicycle have launched the first bespoke carbon calculator for the independent music sector.

Members

IMPALA has nearly 6000 members, including national associations as well independent music companies as direct members. The Board is elected by its members.

Labels

* 8 Ball Music *

Beggars Group Beggars Group is a British record company that owns or distributes several other labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Young. History The companies’ roots stem from the Beggars Banquet record shops, whi ...

Better Noise Music Better Noise Music is the rebranded and re-organized record label founded in 2006 by Allen Kovac, CEO of 10th Street Entertainment. The label was previously known as Eleven Seven Label Group with Eleven Seven, Five Seven and Better Noise Records ...

* Blue Sun * Cobalt Music Helladisc *

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairma ...

Cosmos Music Group Cosmos Music, formerly Bonnier Amigo Music Group (BAMG), is an independent record company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Bonnier Amigo Music Group was formed in 2001 when the record company and distributor Amigo Musik merged with the record compa ...

Despotz Records Despotz Records is an Independent record label based in Stockholm, Sweden. A wide variety of artists are currently affiliated with the label, including Nightrage Nightrage is a Greek/Swedish melodic death metal band originally from Thessalon ...

Edel AG Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...

Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

* Everlasting Records *

Gazell Records Gazell is a jazz record label founded by John Engelbrekt in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1949. History In 1949, John Engelbrekt created the label Gazell in Stockholm, Sweden, to distribute jazz albums. In September 1950, he founded a jazz club in Sto ...

* GMI * I love you Records *

!K7 Records !K7 Music is a music company based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 (it has since relocated, first to Heidestrasse 52, and currently he ...

* Musikvertrieb * IASMusic Group *

Playground Music Scandinavia Playground Music Scandinavia AB (PGM) is Scandinavia’s biggest independent record company and distributor founded in 1999. The company operates in Scandinavia with offices in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and with local distribution partner ...

* Red Bullet Productions * SCL / Lusitanian *

Sugar Music Sugar Music is a vertically integrated, family owned, independent business, active globally as a record label, music publisher, soundtrack and audio-visual producer. The company is headquartered in Milan, Italy. History Established in 1932 by Lad ...

* Sundance Records * The state51 Conspiracy *

Wagram Music Wagram Music is a French independent record company based in Paris, with offices in Berlin and Los Angeles. Record company Wagram's catalog covers various music genres such as French pop, Rock and Pop, world, electronic music, Reggae, Soul, ...

* Zebralution

National associations

* AIM (UK) * AIM Ireland (Ireland) * AMAEI (Portugal) * ANPM (Poland) * BIMA (Belgium) * BMYD (Turkey) * DUP (Denmark) * FELIN (France) * FONO (Norway) * HAIL (Hungary) * INDIECO (Finland) * INDIERO (Romania) * IndieSuisse (Switzerland) * P.I.L. (Israel) * Platforma (Czech Republic) * PMI (Italy) * RUNDA (Balkans) * SOM (Sweden) * STOMP (Netherlands) * UFI (Spain) * UPFI (France) * VTMÖ (Austria) * VUT (Germany)

Awards

IMPALA has three awards schemes: the 100 Artists to Watch Award, the Outstanding Contribution Award and the IMPALA Sales Awards.

References

{{Reflist Music industry associations Organizations established in 2000 International organisations based in Belgium Music organisations based in Belgium