Music Ally Focus

A little bonus cross-over episode for you Focus listeners. On our The Price of Music Podcast, we had two very special guests talk about how to actually make important change happen in the UK’s live industry at grassroots level, and improve the live music fan's experience: Lord Kevin Brennan of Canton⁠, Labour member of the House of Lords – and a ⁠recording musician⁠ himself.
We also speak to ⁠Shain Shapiro⁠, who amongst other things is author of ⁠This Must Be The Place: How Music Can Make Your City Better⁠. (They are both speaking about this on 10th June at the ⁠Music Cities Convention in Hull⁠, FYI.)
** As ever, our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ get the full interviews – with 50% extra conversation! Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section! ⁠⁠⁠⁠**

We talk about the important stuff that fans care about: surge ticket pricing, local grassroots venues, music fan associations and more – and it’s all built on the results of the ⁠UK’s Fan–led Review of Live and Electronic Music⁠, the House of Commons committee special report that Lord Brennan oversaw. He explains what he learned and what can – and should – be done next.
Then Shain explains why live music must be treated as a "vital public good" – i.e. just like libraries or the NHS – and how people like you can build real political heft, in order to save their struggling local spaces.

Lord Brennan reflects on his past work with the Music Streaming Inquiry, examining how parliamentary reports can ripple out to create real-world impact for creators, even when they don’t instantly become law.

Essential learnings from the live fans' report: From transport and safety to fair ticketing, Lord Brennan boils down the core pillars that everyday music lovers actually care about.

The surge pricing backlash: The data doesn't lie – fans are united in their hatred of dynamic ticket surging. We discuss the urgent need for primary market transparency and why standard "free-market" arguments don't apply to the emotional experience of a gig.

Shain Shapiro breaks down how society has prioritised the passive consumption of music (the noun) while deprioritising community participation (the verb), leading to the isolation of modern music fans.

Why you should know your ward councillor. Shain outlines how forming local "Music Fan Associations" can force local councils to unlock underutilised property and rethink how spaces are used.

The 24-Hour Dictators: Both guests flex their imaginary emergency powers to fix the ecosystem, including slashing VAT on tickets, restructuring property business rates, and mandating grassroots funding.

As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Stuart and Joe
======
TPOM online: ⁠http://tpom.uk/⁠
Support The Price of Music on Patreon:
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠⁠
Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredge
Follow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpod
For sponsorship opportunities, please email - ⁠⁠⁠joe@musically.com⁠

Ep. 182: 30 years of running an indie record label is a monumental milestone. We speak to Chris Goss about exactly that – three decades after he co-founded the highly influential jungle / drum and bass label Hospital Records.
Chris has lots to say about the "blood, sweat, and tears" required to stay independent for three decades; modern A&R and how Hospital balances a classic "gut feeling" with data; why drum n bass is currently enjoying its most prolonged "hot streak" in history; and the future of the label.
Founded in West London in 1996 by Chris Goss and Tony Colman, Hospital didn't start with an aggressive business plan. Today, Hospital stands as - possibly - the largest independent drum n bass label in the world.
Hospital records: https://hospitalrecords.com/
High Contrast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoSscshAG-4

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Ep. 181: This is the second episode in a two-part series about the evolution of CMOs – recorded as collective management organisations undergo their most significant transformation in decades.
In this episode, Sacem’s Director of International, Caroline Champarnaud chats with Julien Dumon, its Director of Digital. They explain how the global infrastructure only works if it ultimately serves creators –whose needs are evolving just as fast as the systems built to support them.
They go on to explain how Sacem is redefining its services, tools and philosophy to support modern creators – from digital-native artists to global collaborators – while maintaining fairness, transparency and trust.
⁠SACEM: Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music⁠
=========
Series recap:
In the first episode in the series, ⁠⁠David El Sayegh, Deputy CEO of Sacem⁠⁠, discussed how the organisation is defining the future of copyright.
In the second episode, ⁠we were joined by Julien Lefebvre⁠, the Head of Innovation and Sacem Lab, to talk about its startup partnerships, and the strategic decision to open up certain proprietary technologies to all creators.
In the third episode, we spoke to Caroline and Julien about how CMOs are evolving into interconnected, global infrastructure players: the challenges of global metadata, why international partnerships with organisations like ASCAP and GEMA are more vital than ever, and how Sacem is scaling its systems to match the explosive growth of music streaming in emerging markets.
=======
This is a Music Ally Co-Labs podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/music-ally-co-labs⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Co-Labs content is created by publishing partners in liaison with the Music Ally Editorial Team. We work closely with partners to ensure that it adheres to Music Ally's high expectations of quality, thoughtfulness, and usefulness.

Here's a taste of our other podcast, The Price Of Music, presented by Steve Lamacq and Stuart Dredge – it's your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works,
Like what you hear? Subscribe to TPOM now! https://MusicAlly.lnk.to/TPOM
This week, there's a change to our normal schedule – with a whistlestop tour around the news and then a very special interview with Ashli Todd, owner of the legendary ⁠Spillers Records⁠, the world's oldest record shop (founded in 1894, fact fans!)
Ashli takes time out from filing vinyl to chat to us about ⁠Record Store Day 2026⁠, which is taking place on Saturday 18th April. She also talks about the logistical hurdles of running a record store today. She also gives an authoritative answer on whether PJ Harvey should be filed under 'P' or 'H'!
Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
In this episode...
The Ye/Wireless fallout: what are the financial and contractual "cleaning up exercises" facing Festival Republic after headliner Ye (AKA Kanye West) was denied UK entry – resulting in the entire festival's cancellation?

Radiohead’s Coachella Bunker: the band's new "audiovisual installation" is located in a literal bunker beneath the Coachella festival (and if you visit, they put stickers over your phone cameras)

A billion-dollar milestone: Latin American music has topped $1 billion in US label revenue for the first time - but which artists have driven this?

Then, Ashli Todd, owner of Spillers Records, joins the show to chat about Record Store Day! (Our extra-special ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠⁠⁠ get the full, unedited interview... including some hearty debate about Simply Red!)
RSD reality check: Ashli reveal what it's like to run a record shop during Record Store Day – including the high-stakes gamble of ordering for the big day.

Ashli explains how shops cannot return any unsold Record Store Day stock: so if a shop is left with too many unsold titles, it can negate the entire profit margin for the event.

CDs are... back: Ashli sees teenagers gravitating toward them as a "retro" and affordable alternative to increasingly expensive vinyl.

How sales of popular albums can "fall off a cliff" simply because it’s impossible to reorder from the warehouse, due to labels' unwillingness to sit on large quantities of stock.

The Jools Holland Effect vs. the TikTok Effect: While the Jools Holland effect on sales has waned, TikTok now has a tangible impact on what (especially younger) customers ask for.

We finally settle the argument: does PJ Harvey belong under 'P' or 'H'?

A bonus filing complication: Record Store Day filing rules follow the official list order, which is alphabetical by first name. (We're still not 100% clear how this effects PJ Harvey, though.)

(If you'd like to know more about the history of Spillers, this interview with Ashli is well worth a read: ⁠https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/story-uks-oldest-record-shop-15805068)⁠

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As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
See you next week!
Steve and Stuart
======
TPOM online: ⁠http://tpom.uk/⁠
Support The Price of Music on Patreon:
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠⁠
Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacq
Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredge
Follow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpod
For sponsorship opportunities, please email - ⁠⁠⁠joe@musically.com

Ep. 180: Music consumption today is borderless, but the systems that manage it have historically been national. Now, collective management organisations are undergoing their most significant transformation in decades.
On one hand, they are becoming global infrastructure players, scaling systems, data and partnerships to match worldwide music consumption. On the other, they are redefining their relationship with creators whose ways of making, monetising and collaborating are changing just as rapidly.
We're joined by Caroline Champarnaud, Sacem's Director of International, and Julien Dumon, Director of Digital. They talk about how CMOs are evolving into interconnected, global infrastructure players. We explore the challenges of global metadata, why international partnerships with organisations like ASCAP and GEMA are more vital than ever, and how Sacem is scaling its systems to match the explosive growth of music streaming in emerging markets.
SACEM: Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music
This is the third in a special series of Music Ally Focus made in collaboration with Sacem, exploring the evolution of collective management in the modern music industry – looking at technology, policy, copyright and more.
In the next episode, we’ll discuss the evolution of CMOs further, and how the global infrastructure only works if it ultimately serves creators, whose needs are evolving just as fast as the systems built to support them.
=========
In the first episode in the series, ⁠David El Sayegh, Deputy CEO of Sacem⁠, discussed how the organisation is defining the future of copyright.
In the second episode, we were joined by Julien Lefebvre, the Head of Innovation and Sacem Lab, to talk about its startup partnerships, and the strategic decision to open up certain proprietary technologies to all creators.
=======
This is a Music Ally Co-Labs podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/music-ally-co-labs⁠⁠⁠.
Co-Labs content is created by publishing partners in liaison with the Music Ally Editorial Team. We work closely with partners to ensure that it adheres to Music Ally's high expectations of quality, thoughtfulness, and usefulness.