Brussels, 2 April 2026

“It is testament to the innovation in the independent sector that Revelator has been bought by Warner. As we have consistently said, all independent businesses need good exit options. Big players are important in all markets, and we hope that this will see more competition among the majors. At the same time, the trend continues whereby labels and artists who made a conscious choice to go with an independent partner, now find themselves with a major and the independent ecosystem loses another chunk of its infrastructure. That’s bad news for artists, fans, and Europe’s diversity as whole.

Independent owned distribution plays a key role in the overall ecosystem which needs to be strengthened as Dan Fowler set out in his recent report, ‘Powering an Independent and Culturally Diverse European Music Ecosystem’. That report sets out the business case for growing the independent sector and has key recommendations which we are working on, including finance options, and streaming reform and we look to the EU and national regulators to take a strategic approach to culture. A strong market with great independent owned options for all the amazing artists and labels in the sector is essential and a serious rethink is much needed about how we achieve that.

With the right conditions in place this is an opportunity for the independent sector and also for Europe. That involves finance mechanisms to operate and grow, shoring up of all income sources, proper functioning markets which promote diversity and human creativity, industry collaboration and support from decision makers across the board about the strategic importance of diversity.”