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IMPALA put indie music chiefs in front of EU leaders
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 10 June 2010
Independent music companies had the opportunity to speak to EU and Belgian government officials this week at a summit organised by pan-European indie label trade body IMPALA. The Belgians are relevant because they will take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU at the start of the next month.
The trade body’s co-President, [PIAS]’s Michel Lambot, summarised the three key topics on the agenda, telling CMU: “We have high hopes for the Belgian presidency to provide strong leadership to build a true single and diverse digital market. Three things would make the difference – ISP co-operation, reduced VAT, and a proper investment strategy including a proper EC programme for music and books, just like film”.
Noting that her trade body is now ten years old, IMPALA’s Exec Chair Helen Smith said she was optimistic about what could be achieved for the independent music sector by increased lobbying of political types on a European level. She said: “Ten years ago the political discussions around music were very narrow. We have made huge progress and the challenge now is to convert this into concrete measures to give European artists more space”.
