IMPALA has published a new set of recommendations to help transform the digital music market, as the sector approaches one billion subscribers on streaming services.
The plan, titled One billion subscribers and counting – a moment for ambition, experimentation and collaboration: IMPALA’s Digital Music Plan 2026, sets out a shared agenda for digital services, labels and distributors.
Approved by the IMPALA board at its meeting in June, the plan focuses on how the digital music market can become larger, fairer, more diverse, more transparent and more sustainable.
IMPALA’s recommendations are based on five priorities:
- Increase revenues and share them fairly, close value gaps
- Supercharge support for new, emerging and diverse music
- Establish trust through industry-wide provenance labelling
- Stop fraud and AI dilution, embrace responsible models
- Reduce climate impact and strengthen collective innovation
The plan follows a two-month review, with input from stakeholders across the independent music sector. It builds on IMPALA’s previous digital music recommendations, alongside recent analysis on streaming, discoverability, diversity and independence.
IMPALA says the digital music market is at a crossroads. Streaming has helped more people listen to more music than ever before, but the organisation argues that more can be done to improve outcomes for artists, labels and audiences.
The recommendations call for action on issues including fairer revenue sharing, subscription pricing, payment thresholds, support for new and diverse repertoire, provenance standards, fraud prevention, responsible AI models and climate impact.
Gee Davy, CEO of AIM and co-chair of IMPALA’s working group, said the milestone of one billion subscribers points to a mature digital music market with the potential to deliver broader success. She described the plan as an ambitious but achievable route towards a better-functioning market where genuine music can flourish and attempts to game the system are addressed.
IMPALA will assess progress in 12 months and is asking partners across the digital music ecosystem to collaborate on the recommendations.