Brussels, 16th April 2026

Interesting parallels this week between the independent music sector’s views on the risks of concentration in two other equally important sectors – live music and film.

Both developments are in the USA and are historic moments in our shared journey to ensure culture is diverse and each sector has a proper functioning and independent ecosystem:

Amazing win in court just yesterday over Live Nation/Ticketmaster: New York Times – “This is a historic and resounding victory for artists, fans, and the venues that support them.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta

Film sector’s revolt on Paramount/Warner Bros, nice summary in the New York Times.

Ben Stiller’s words sum it up perfectly here

“This is an important moment. Whenever a small number of powerful entities determine what gets made — and on what terms — in any field, it leaves creators and independent businesses with fewer viable paths to sustain their work. This will negatively affect the livelihood of so many people in our industry. And on a creative level it limits the breadth of expression of different viewpoints if only a few determine what we all get to watch and experience in theaters and on tv and the media.”

Helen Smith, Executive Chair, IMPALA commented “Almost word for word, the concerns match our members’ warnings about the impact on concentration in the music sector. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the significance of this. And while we are doing that, here is a reminder of the conclusions we drew from UMG/Downtown. Thanks again to all the IMPALA members who dared to speak out.”

On why independence is synonymous with diversity and therefore essential in the ecosystem, check out Dan Fowler’s report ‘Powering an Independent and Culturally Diverse European Music Ecosystem‘, see summary here.

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. This year we are celebrating our 25th anniversary with a series of interviews Faces of the Independent Sector and other features, see more here.