IMPALA Proposes New Plan To Transform Digital Music Market

BRUSSELS (CelebrityAccess) – IMPALA, the independent music sector trade body in Europe, has issued a new plan to transform the digital music market (ADD LINK). Referring to the fact that the sector is about to reach one billion subscribers on streaming services, IMPALA notes this is “something to celebrate” and at the same time flags that there is significant potential for the market to become “larger, fairer, more diverse and transparent.”

IMPALA describes this as “a moment for ambition, experimentation and collaboration” on a new scale and identifies shared goals to grow the digital market “culturally, financially and sustainably”. The focus is on the whole digital market, rather than just streaming and IMPALA points to different value gaps and shared opportunities.

At the heart of IMPALA’s plan are five priorities, set out in the spirit of partnership and aimed at collaboration with both digital services, and labels and distributors:

1. Increase revenues and share them fairly, close value gaps
2. Supercharge support for new, emerging and diverse music
3. Establish trust through industry-wide provenance labelling
4. Stop fraud and AI dilution, embrace responsible models
5. Reduce climate impact and strengthen collective innovation

The proposals were adopted by the IMPALA board at the end of June and follow a two-month review where different stakeholders were asked to share their priorities. The plan sets out what engagement with IMPALA’s recommendations would mean in practice for digital music services, and also for labels and distributors as regards their dealings with their artists as well as with services.

IMPALA’s proposals are designed to deliver deep systemic changes. They build on previous recommendations which remain relevant, as well as recent analysis by Dan Fowler on the evolution of a two tier streaming economy and the importance of diversity and independence in the music sector, as well as the EU’s recent report on discoverability in Europe.

Mark Kitcatt, co-owner and MD of Everlasting Popstock, co-chair of IMPALA’s working group commented: “We thank everyone who contributed: our members of course, as well as other music organisations and platforms. Our members believe that the promise of digital music is connection between artists and fans, and our proposals aim to strengthen this. At the same time, we question the impact of certain measures on the health of the market, such as monetisation thresholds, the scope of free-tier offerings, as well as current pricing and the obligation to continue to deliver all repertoire. Collaborating on these proposals from the independent sector will stimulate new investment in groundbreaking new music and support for the artists who create it.”

Gee Davy CEO of AIM and co-chair of IMPALA’s working group added: “One billion subscribers indicates a mature digital music market capable of delivering widespread success. We see this as a moment for an ambitious but achievable plan to create a well-functioning market where genuine music flourishes and all attempts to game the system are stamped out. Success in a mature market requires exciting, differentiated offerings and collaboration on shared goals. We welcome new opportunities for fan engagement as well as the growing recognition that fighting fraud and fakes need industry-wide collaboration. We also believe there is an opportunity, and an urgency, to collaborate on key areas that have the potential to be transformative and drive growth, which we have set out in five clear priorities. We invite our key commercial partners in the digital space to join us in making this a reality.”

Dan Fowler author of Powering an Independent and Culturally Diverse European Music Ecosystem continued: “A healthy ecosystem for music to thrive is dependent on individual action and cross-party collaboration, requiring contribution from all sides of the market, with a focus on the importance of diversity of culture. Proactivity around innovation, provenance, and defining and defending the value of human-created music is essential as we move toward the next stage of our industry.”

Dario Draštata, Chair of IMPALA, President of regional association RUNDA Adria and Executive Director of Dallas Records added: “Concrete action to boost diversity, and in all markets is a key theme of our new plan, whether cultural, genre, language, geography, equity and inclusion, etc. Our proposals include payment boosts as well as crucially needed changes in the tools used in music discovery. We support the increasing calls from some for regulation, but with this plan we suggest using them as an opportunity to improve, in order to pursue ambition, experimentation and collaboration, so that we level the playing field as much as possible and let healthy market competition grow. We will be assessing the progress in twelve months and ask our partners across the ecosystem to help us in doing this.” 

Francesca Trainini, IMPALA President and board member of Italian association PMI continued: “Recent reports highlight what can be achieved through clear, dynamic collaboration across the industry. The opportunity for a sector wide provenance system is clear. Done right, provenance standards will become the foundation for new discovery tools, fan experiences, licensing solutions and commercial opportunities across the digital music economy. We also propose a new standard approach on how AI generated content is treated in terms or royalty pools, algorithms and recommender system, filtering, as well as uploading, as this is more than a labelling issue.”

Helen Smith, IMPALA Executive Chair concluded: “As our plan concludes, if we succeed with our shared ambition, connections with fans will be stronger and more working artists and labels at different levels in the ecosystem will be able to make a living from their art. The music economy will offer greater and more sustainable opportunities. This will set a new standard, help keep regulation to a minimum and underline the leadership role of the music sector in terms of trust and transparency.”