Music Ally Focus

Ep. 187: Back-office admin – from distribution and DSP analytics to neighbouring rights and D2C sales – remains a massive operational drain for indie labels, publishers, and self-releasing artists. In this episode, in collaboration with Absolute Label Services, we sit down with Simon Wills (Co-founder & MD) and Paul Purcell (Director of Platform) to explore how modern "music operating systems" are replacing clunky, fragmented tech stacks, and endless open browser tabs.
We discuss why Absolute built their own platform, Anthology, how private AI empowers lean teams to operate with major-label firepower, and what the future holds for independent rightsholders aiming to scale without expanding headcount.
Anthology: absolutelabelservices.com/anthology
And here's what we discussed:
Ditching spreadsheet hell: Why juggling dozens of portals is breaking indie workflows, and why music-led teams build better tools than tech bros.

Taming the admin monster: Unpicking the daily operational time-killers and centralising rights, metadata, and D2C into a single engine.

AI that's safe for your data: How to use private, walled-off data models that supercharge your catalogue without risking your IP.

The 2028 indie blueprint: How a three-person team can punch with major-label firepower - and why AI is here to kill busywork, not take your job.
Unlocking hidden catalogue cash: Turning passive data into active revenue, automated restocks, and slept-on sync opportunities.

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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.

Ep 186: Forget AI music for a moment: more humans are making music than ever before – and they're using powerful, accessible tools to do it. One of those tools is the digital audio workstation FL Studio – and we spoke to Constantin Köhncke, CEO of Image-Line, the company behind FL Studio, and chief product and technology officer Robert Linke about navigating the creator environment in 2026.
They talk about the delicate balancing act between human creativity, generative AI, and accessible production tools in modern music making.
Originally created in 1997 as Fruity Loops, FL Studio has developed into a dominant digital audio workstation responsible for defining major electronic and hip-hop sub-genres.
Constantin and Robert also discuss FL Studio's strict ethical guardrails around AI training models; how they use the DAW's famous "pay-once, get free lifetime updates" business model to their advantage; and how they meet the needs of millions of music creators, from bedroom producers to those at the top of the Billboard charts.

FL Studio Beta: ⁠https://fl.studio⁠
Boards of Canada – Amo Bishop Roden:
https://youtu.be/sFBMIra45lU
Radiohead – Everything in Its Right Place (Gigamesh remix):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHp370aZvsM
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Ep 185: We're sharing an episode from our other music biz podcast, The Price of Music (follow it here! https://musically.lnk.to/TPOM) - because we went and had another chat with the team from EcoRecord, a couple of years after we first spoke to them here on Music Ally Focus.
EcoRecord is a PVC-free, injection-moulded alternative to the traditional vinyl record, which cuts, they say, factory energy use by up to 85%, and swaps PVC for recyclable PET plastic. Recently, artists like Coldplay and Lorde have released versions of their albums using the process.
We chatted to Sven Deutschmann, CEO of record manufacturer Sonopress, about what he's learned over the last two years of production, whether the records sound as good as traditional vinyl, how Coldplay have switched all of their back catalogue from PVC to PET, and if most records will be made this way in the future. (Plus, Joe gets very excited by some gold and silver coloured records.)
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Ep. 184: We’re thrilled to be joined once again by Stuart Dredge, Music Ally’s head of insight, as we chat about our June 2026 Insight Report. This one is the International Issue (https://musically.com/category/reports/) and is the result of spending 12 months speaking to local experts who know how to break artists in each territory. It's packed with on-the-ground insight and marketing advice.
We’ve picked out three key global issues from the last 12 months to discuss here:
Trend 1: Transition to video-first discovery and "seamless funnels"
Trend 2: Decentralisation of live music and infrastructure challenges
Trend 3: Localised marketing: sincerity over stardom
You can also hear more of Stu 'n' Joe each week on The Price of Music: https://tpom.uk
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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
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TPOM online: ⁠http://tpom.uk/⁠
Support The Price of Music on Patreon:
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Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredge
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For sponsorship opportunities, please email - ⁠⁠⁠joe@musically.com⁠