Impala (association)
Impala (short for: Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association) is an association of over 4,000 European independent labels and sales organizations based in Brussels , Belgium . Impala was founded in April 2000 under the first President Michel Lambot as a non-profit organization with the aim of representing a special purpose association and a representation of interests of independent music companies in Europe.
Management level
The management positions are assigned in rotation. The current presidents of the association are Patrick Zelnick from the French label Naïve, Michel Lambot from the Belgian PIAS Entertainment Group and Horst Weidenmüller from the German label ! K7 . The British Helen Smith holds the Executive Chair.
Members
Its members include prominent independent labels such as the Beggars Group, Edel SE , Cooking Vinyl or Play It Again, Sam (PIAS) and distributors such as Schweizerische Musikvertrieb AG or SPV . As the German Association of Independent Music Companies e. V. also includes the national branch associations of independent labels and sales companies from the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Israel. Impala represents music companies with a market share of almost 30 percent in the global music market. Lambot said: “ We're the largest company in the world if we act together ” (German: “We are the largest company in the world when we act together”) . In 2004, independent record labels had a global market share of 28.4 percent, which was higher than the 25.5 percent share of the largest major label Universal Music .
activities
Impala sees itself as an international network and feels committed to the idea of independent and cultural diversity. The joint representation of interests is intended to help dismantle trade barriers and market access difficulties and, in this context, to prevent the formation of cartels among the majors. However, the heterogeneity of the association makes it difficult to implement this project.
Anti-cartel policy
Impala successfully sued in 2006 against the first attempt at the merger of Sony Music and BMG Music Entertainment to form Sony BMG Music Entertainment and also campaigned against the takeover of BMG's publishing house by Universal Music .
The protests against the planned merger of Warner Music and EMI Music were pulled back when Warner made concessions that should secure the independent labels more market share and help to finance the digital distribution project Merlin . Not all Impala members agreed with this, however, and the Ministry of Sound label even left the British industry association AIM because of this.
Impala criticized the subsequent approval of the European Commission for the merger of Sony BMG as well as the subsequent takeover of the BMG share from Sony BMG by Sony.
Digital music marketing
One of the main concerns of this joint market action is to be able to better survive with synergies in connection with the ongoing restructuring of the music market in connection with digital availability, which entails more costs for product marketing and, at the same time, falling revenues.
In June 2001 Impala signed a license agreement with Napster , with which the music subscription service planned at the time with the Bertelsmann eCommerce Group was to be supplied with content, but this failed when Bertelsmann's activities ended in the meantime.
In December 2002 Impala Interactive started a centralized licensing system for label members who want to license their content for online music services. This system later became part of the worldwide music network Merlin, which was started in January 2007 with a similar background. The merger should act as a "virtual fifth major" as a counterweight to the four major corporations that dominate the market. At Midem 2007, Impala propagated the waiver of digital rights management in the digital distribution of music and announced the collaboration with the music licenser Snocap .
Impala Awards
Impala European Independent Album of the Year
- 2017: In My Head - Gurr
- 2016: Citizen of Glass - Agnes Obel
- 2015: Vestiges & Claws - José González
- 2014: Our Love - Caribou
- 2013: Guadalupe Plata Magic
- 2012: Coexist - The xx
- 2011: 21 - Adele
- 2010: Chairs - Efterklang
Impala Outstanding Contribution Award
- 2017: Jonas Sjöström
- 2016: Plus 1 - Refugees Welcome!
- 2015: Eurosonic Noorderslag
- 2015: Armada Music and Armin van Buuren
- 2014: Charles Caldas
- 2013: Martin Mills and Label Love
- 2012: Mario Pacheco
Impala Sales Awards
The Impala Sales Awards are given for Europe-wide sales of sound carriers (albums, singles or downloads) that have been published by an independent music company. The award winners are announced at irregular intervals, mostly in the context of international trade fairs.
A special feature of the ranking of the phonograms is that a platinum record enjoys a higher status than a diamond. As a rule, a diamond record is the highest form of award elsewhere.
| Award | Sales units |
|---|---|
 silver
|
20,000 |
 2 × silver
|
40,000 |
 gold
|
75,000 |
 2 × gold
|
150,000 |
 diamond
|
200,000 |
 platinum
|
400,000 |
 2 × platinum
|
800,000 |
| ... | |
Web links
swell
- ↑ Nikolaus Röttger, Andre Tauber: Dossier Michel Lambot: Out of love for music ( Memento of July 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on ftd.de
- ↑ a b IMPALA press release on vut-online.de (English)
- ↑ About Impala ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on impalamusic.org (English)
- ↑ IMPALA starts MIDEM with a new management board, new priorities and a private meeting with the EC Commissioner for Culture, Jan Figel on impalamusic.org (English)
- ↑ About Impala: Organization ( Memento of the original dated February 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on impalamusic.org (English)
- ↑ a b c Axel Postinett: Warner allies with the Independents . handelsblatt.com
- ↑ Indies unite to challenge Big Four digital deals on theregister.co.uk (English)
- ↑ Industry: Facts And Figures ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on impalamusic.org (English)
- ↑ Information: Issues ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on impalamusic.org (English)
- ↑ The Court of First Instance annuls the decision authorizing the establishment of Sony BMG on europa.eu
- ↑ EU court concedes merger approval for SonyBMG . Heise online
- ↑ Press release: IMPALA positions itself against the merger of Warner and EMI ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on nmz.de
- ↑ Not all indies are satisfied with the IMPALA / WMG deal on netzonfire.wordpress.com
- ^ Robert A. Gehring: Independent labels against EU approval for Sony-BMG merger . Golem.de
- ↑ EU: Impala criticizes decision on Sony merger . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. musikmarkt.de
- ↑ Impala ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on pro-musicorg.de (English)
- ↑ Napster brings the independents on board . Heise online
- ↑ Napster: The death of the "revolutionary" . Heise online
- ↑ Nate Anderson: Indie labels combine to form a "virtual fifth major" on arstechnica.com (English)
- ^ Robert A. Gehring: Musician, music industry & device manufacturer in the dispute over DRM on Golem.de
- ↑ Independent Record Labels Sign MySpace Deal ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on neowin.net (English)
- ↑ a b c Impala Sales Awards criteria . Retrieved September 21, 2017.
