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IMPALA welcome EC cultural industries green paper
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 30 April 2010
Pan-European indie label trade body IMPALA has welcomed an EC Cultural Industries Green Paper, which was adopted by the EC Commissioner For Culture this week.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given IMPALA’s active support for the paper, the document includes a number of proposals for making the cultural industries across Europe more friendly to smaller and more entrepreneurial businesses, such as the independent record companies the trade body represents. IMPALA said yesterday: “The move starts a very important process which is expected will lead to concrete results for thousands of independent music companies and other SMEs across Europe”.
The issues addressed in the report mirror some of those most frequently raised by IMPALA, including market access, especially in the digital domain, the barriers to SMEs accessing finance, and the need to reduce barriers affecting the mobility of artists and talent.
On the market access issue, the report says: “A diverse range of entrepreneurs … is a pre-requisite for a culturally diverse offer to consumers. This is possible only if fair access to the market is guaranteed. Creating and maintaining the level playing field which ensures that there are no unjustified barriers to entry will require combined efforts in different policy fields, especially competition policy”.
Formally welcoming the report, IMPALA Executive Chair Helen Smith told CMU: “This sends a clear message that the EC recognises the importance of a level playing field and will use competition rules to achieve it. The next step is to work out the concrete measures required for SMEs to secure real market access and improve their financial viability. Bold moves by the Commission now will deliver a thriving diverse digital market and a real boost to Europe’s economy”.
EC Green Papers are published to initiate debate among relevant stakeholders about certain issues, often via some sort of formal consultation process. All that might result in the publication of a White Paper that proposes changes in European law to make things happen in member states and across the continent at large.
