Brussels, 19th November 2025

Today, IMPALA, representing over 6,000 members in the European independent music sector across 33 countries, issued this short statement below in response to the news in the press (here & here) that the European Commission will proceed to the next step in its investigation of UMG’s proposed acquisition of Downtown by issuing a set of formal objections:

“We welcome this news and look forward to official confirmation and details of the objections. We will continue to liaise with the European Commission regarding our members’ concerns.

We believe this acquisition should be blocked outright, for the reasons set out in 100Voices which is an illustrative snapshot of views from the sector as well as in our cultural diversity paper, and other expert analyses submitted to the regulators. 

Competition and diversity in the music market in Europe, and across the globe, depend on the outcome of this case. 

On Friday the International Artists Organisation sent an open letter to the European Commissioner responsible for the case. Eva Karman Reinhold raised concerns in the Swedish press as did Ruth Barlow, Chair of AIM at their AGM. See also these op-eds by Kees van Weijen, Ruth Barlow, Birte Wiemann, Noemí Planas, and Helen Smith, as well as comments from Gee Davy in a Music Week feature.”

See more on IMPALA’s news page. Other key parts of the music sector on top of labels and featured artists have also raised concerns about this acquisition, including authors and composers, managers and independent publishers.

About IMPALA
IMPALA was established in 2000 and now represents over 6000 independent music companies in Europe. 99% of Europe’s music companies are small, micro and medium businesses and self-releasing artists. Known as the independents, they are world leaders in terms of innovation and discovering new music and artists – they produce more than 80% of all new releases and account for 80% of the sector’s jobs. IMPALA’s mission is to grow the independent music sector sustainably, return more value to artists, promote diversity and entrepreneurship, improve political access, inspire change, and increase access to finance. IMPALA works on a range of key issues for its members and started a new co-funded work programme as an EU cultural network in 2025. IMPALA runs various award schemes and has a programme aimed at businesses who want to develop a strategic relationship with the European independent sector – Friends of IMPALA