IMPALA SETS 25TH ANNIVERSARY PRIORITIES IN MADRID TO BUILD ON THE BUSINESS CASE FOR GROWING THE INDEPENDENT SECTOR, RECOGNISES HELEN SMITH FOR HER OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION ON INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY
(AIE President Luis Cobos with the IMPALA board)
Madrid, 10 March 2026
At its spring meetings in Madrid, IMPALA has agreed priorities for its 25th anniversary year to build on the business case for the independent sector, set out in Dan Fowler’s report from early February ‘Powering an Independent and Culturally Diverse European Music Ecosystem’. A series of strategic discussions took place all week and IMPALA’s board meeting was opened by AIE president Luis Cobos, President (pictured above).
IMPALA’s priorities include a new finance plan to grow the independent sector, digital market and streaming reform proposals, collaborative projects across the industry in particular with artists, AI priorities, boosting the sector’s copyright assets, as well as its programme of activities as a recognised EU cultural network including sustainability and equity, diversity and inclusion where IMPALA is a clear leader. This will also tie into an overall industrial policy approach for the sector which IMPALA will be putting forward this year. Dan Fowler attended the board meeting, along with Emmanuel Legrand to discuss a new finance report for the organisation.
As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, the IMPALA board also recognised Executive Chair, Helen Smith, with a special edition of the organisation’s Outstanding Contribution award for her “heroic and insightful leadership over many years fighting tirelessly for and on behalf of the European independent music sector”. The award was presented by IMPALA Chair Dario Draštata & IMPALA President Francesca Trainini and coincides with International Women’s Day which is themed Give to Gain this year, emphasising the power of reciprocity and support, very much a feature of Helen’s work. Originally from Scotland, Helen is based in Brussels where she works with the IMPALA board as Executive Chair since 2007 to drive forward key strategies on a political, commercial and promotional level.
(IMPALA Chair Dario Draštata & IMPALA President Francesca Trainini presenting Helen with a special 25th anniversary edition of IMPALA’s Outstanding Contribution award)
At AIE Sociedad de Artistas, President Luis Cobos welcomed the IMPALA board with an inspiring speech. IMPALA also discussed shared priorities with Vice President Nacho Garcia Vega and Managing Director Jose Luis Sevillano Romero, Managing Director Alvaro Hernández-Pinzón García and Mario Pato. IMPALA’s meetings kicked off earlier in the week at the authors’ society SGAE who hosted IMPALA’s management committee at the amazing Palacio Longoria, joined by SGAE Vera Wrana Trautmann (Director of Institutional Relations) who welcomed IMPALA.
(Geert De Blaere, Stephan Bourdoiseau, Gee Davy, Helen Smith, Vera Wrana Trautmann & Jörg Heidemann)
The board also thanked IMPALA Friend Spotify as well as Apple who both hosted productive meetings at their offices with IMPALA’s digital committee. IMPALA Friends SonoSuite and YouTube also joined for great discussions with members. Sonia Duran and the UFi team as well as Mark Kitcatt of Everlasting and Popstock organised the series of meetings and welcomed IMPALA members at the UFi Min Awards nominees night. With the WIN Worldwide Independent Network based in Madrid, Noemí Planas also joined the IMPALA board meeting to brainstorm priorities.
IMPALA Chair Dario Draštata, Executive Director of regional association RUNDA commented: “IMPALA’s spring meetings are important each year and being in Madrid was the perfect opportunity to brainstorm our priorities to build on Dan Fowler’s report on powering the ecosystem. Helen Smith receiving the IMPALA Outstanding Contribution award is a recognition of her outstanding dedication to the independent music community. Through years of advocacy and leadership, she has helped strengthen the voice of independent music across Europe and beyond as well as grow our membership, especially in southern and eastern European territories. The award celebrates her commitment to supporting a fair, diverse, inclusive, sustainable and thriving independent sector.”
IMPALA President Francesca Trainini, Vice President of Italian association PMI added: “Madrid was a huge success with Dan Fowler’s report setting out a clear business case for growing the independent sector. It was also the moment to recognise our Executive Chair, Helen who has guided the association with remarkable skill and clarity, somehow managing to run several major projects at once without ever dropping a stitch – a feat anyone who has worked with her knows is not an exaggeration. Her leadership has shaped much of what IMPALA is today, and this award is both a recognition of everything she has accomplished and a thank you for the many contributions still to come. If I were Scottish, I would probably comment “About bloody time!”
IMPALA’s Executive Chair, Helen Smith concluded: “This was an important set of meetings to agree our 25th anniversary priorities and we thank our members UFi and our hosts AIE and SGAE for making it possible. To receive an award was a total surprise and much appreciated. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be able to do my job and our aim is to make a difference for our members and their artists. If we achieve that, it’s also because of everything our board does as well as the chairs of the different groups and of course the secretariat who do an amazing job every day – it’s our collective energy, ideas and commitment that count!”
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
