IMPALA Independent Music Companies Association
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IMPALA (the Independent Music Companies Association, originally known as Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association) is a non-profit trade body established in April 2000 to help European independent music companies represent their own agenda and promote independent music in the interests of artistic, entrepreneurial and cultural diversity. Its offices are in Brussels, Belgium.
The independents are in effect the small, medium and even micro operators. They are known as the independents because they are independent of the major music companies, known as the “majors”. Sometimes independents are referred to as SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), like other companies of similar sizes in other sectors. 99% of music businesses are small, medium or even micro operators, accounting for 80% of all new releases and 80% of the sector’s jobs. The collective market share of the independents has shrunk from 40% to 20% due to concentration and under capitalisation. [1]
IMPALA’s stated mission is to grow the independent music sector, promote cultural diversity and cultural entrepreneurship, improve political access and modernise the perception of the music industry.
There are three Presidents, Patrick Zelnik (Naïve, France), Michel Lambot (PIAS) and Horst Weidenmüller (!K7, Germany). Executive Chair is Helen Smith and the Treasurer is Jonas Sjöström, Playground. The Board is voted in by members.
Cultural SMEs are recognised by the EC, as well as national, regional and international decision makers, as vital to innovation and economic and cultural diversity. The EC said in 2007 that they needed specific support measures and in 2010 it adopted a Green Paper on Cultural Industries where it recognised the need to “level the playing field” for independents, particularly through competition rules, as well as the importance of making appropriate finance available. IMPALA also participates in WIN, the Worldwide Independent Network.
IMPALA has over 4000 members including national associations and independent music companies.
IMPALA has three awards schemes: the European Independent Album of the Year Award, the Outstanding Contribution Award and the IMPALA Sales Awards.
European Independent Album of the Year Award winner is selected annually based on artistic merit alone, regardless of sales figures and publicity, from a nomination shortlist from which a jury then selects a winner. The winner of the 2010 European Independent Album of the Year was Efterklang's "Magic Chairs", the full nomination list can be seen here.
This award recognises the efforts of an individual or organisation, not necessarily from a label, to promote and develop European independent music and the diversity of the sector. Again, a winner is announced annually. IMPALA honoured [Mario Pacheco] in January 2011 with the inaugural award.
For many independent artists, success begins well before sales reach 1 million (the pan-European sales level officially recognised before IMPALA launched its scheme). IMPALA intends these Awards to provide a tool for independent music companies and artists to promote themselves, both domestically and internationally.
The sales levels for the awards are:
Sales award winners include:
In 2006 IMPALA challenged the European Commission’s approval of the joint venture between Sony and Bertelsmann saying that the merger was contradictory to European competition law. The appeal court referred back for a “retrial”. No final decision was ever reached because the court closed the litigation down when Sonny bought out Bertelsmann’s shares, making the joint venture an irrelevant entity. The case became a landmark litigation, setting a precedent for future merger cases that there is no presumption in favour of mergers. It also completely changed how merger cases are handled by the Commission and how the interests of competitors are taken into account. In August 2009, law firm Watson, Farley & Williams said “the [merger] system owes a debt of gratitude to IMPALA”. IMPALA is also advocating new competition guidelines to foster diversity and true competition in the music market.
In January 2008, IMPALA launched its ‘Action Plan for Music’. This called for cultural SMEs to be given a specific status. The Plan covered an investment package for financial viability and independence (including lowering VAT for music, applying tax benefits for SME innovation/risks/production, rolling out public/private loan guarantee schemes and SME friendly growth loan finance) a market access package (including making preferential terms for cultural SMEs a reality, adopting new competition rules for the cultural sector and dedicated independent space in all distribution channels) and a copyright and digital package (including extending term of protection for sound recordings, ISP engagement in resolving P2P issues, promoting the right of creators to fair private copying compensation).
In January 2010, IMPALA launched its ‘Action Plan for Finance’. This called for more specific measures to help finance cultural SMEs. The plan included sports-inspired measures, such as a 5% compensation fee on all future revenues of artists developed at a smaller label and later signed by a major, and a solidarity-based revenue-sharing system.
It also called for action at EC, national and regional level to improve competition in the music sector, through a reduced VAT rate, ensuring proper valuation of copyright as an intangible asset, EC investment programmes and loan guarantee schemes, amongst other proposals.
IMPALA is active on other issues which aim to level the playing field in the music sector. These include:
IMPALA is a permanent observer at WIPO and a member of UNESCO’s Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity
IMPALA actively contributed to the creation of Merlin in 2006 as a global rights licensing agency, aiming to ensure that the independents’ rights would be represented in the digital market.