The initiative, which launched in 2010, worrks on behalf of music publishers to directly licenses mechanical rights for Anglo-American repertoire for online and mobile use both to existing pan-European digital services and those newly launching.
Independent music publisher Imagem has become the latest "Friend of IMPEL", following Peermusic and BMG Chrysalis. Direct members of the service include Bucks, Fintage, Moncur Street Music, RZO and Fintage, while this month has seen the addition of Eagle-I Music and Spirit, the first US-based publisher to join up.
PRS for Music director of media licensing Williams Booth said: "The IMPEL initiative represents for licensees a convenient one-stop shop for this repertoire. PRS for Music was the first society in the world to offer a multi-territory solution for independent publishers and the significant royalties now flowing to publishers highlights the fact we are getting on top of the many complexities in this area.
"Progress was slow after launch in 2010, but significant improvements were made in 2011 delivering a boost in monies distributed and improvements in administration; we look forward to building on this throughout 2012."
IMPEL member and chair of the IMPEL Advisory Group Stuart Hornall of Hornall Brothers Music said IMPEL had removed the complexity of pan-European licensing for independent publishers and greatly eased the administrative burden.
"The significant and increasingly important online monies we have received and that are in the pipeline is proof that IMPEL publishers are receiving their pan-European royalties more quickly and transparently. I'm confident this will increase further this year and beyond," he added.
There are presently pan-European licensing deals with companies including 7digital, Spotify, Amazon, Apple iTunes and Research in Motion, while PRS for Music recently announced a licensing deal with Apple for its cloud-based music services.
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