The Price of Music

Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section! This week, Producer Joe steps into some big shoes to chat with Stuart about:
How many streams did Drake’s THREE new albums get since their release on 15 May. But is this a hit comeback or a flop?

Ozzy Osbourne is back! Wait, you say, isn’t he dead? Well, yes, but he’s the latest late star to be returning in avatar form.

Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger: which musical nostalgia is now a preserved cultural artifact in the UK?

Spotify held its Investor Day last week, unveiling some new features including two big pieces of music news: one around ticketing and one around AI.

Elsewhere in AI music-land, details have leaked out about the new ‘Starstruck’ service that Udio is building with its major-label deals. What can we expect?

Ed Sheeran is leaving Warner Music Group after 15 years being signed to the company’s Asylum Records imprint. So where might his next recordings home be?

Techno megastar Richie Hawtin is more than capable of making your nose bleed in a club, but can he help you study or sleep at home? His latest release aims to show he can…

You can make vinyl out of recycled records now, but does that affect the quality of how they sound? Yes, but no, is the answer...

And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Stu and Joe prop themselves up at the bar – and while the barman may have changed, the game's the same... in this week's bonus material:
What other pieces of musical memory deserve to be preserved? (And Stu reminisces fondly about, erm, The Kersal Massive (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uja3W-ibifc)

Do we actually want to remix our favourite artists using AI? (Joe has a one-word answer)

Which dead musicians do we want to see as avatars, if any?

Is Drake any good? Really though, is he?

===================================
As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠
See you next week!
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 - ⁠⁠[email protected]

Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section!
This week... Steve is back from the Great Escape music showcase festival and joins Stuart to discuss:
How many songs have Steve and Stu listened to on Spotify since 2008, according to its latest nostalgia-baiting feature?

BANGARANGA! Eurovision was this weekend and Steve watched it for the first time in a decade. We get his thoughts – plus find out who the most successful post-Eurovision artists are.

Last week we were speculating about whether the UK’s planned crackdown on ticket-touting would go ahead. And the answer is… no (but also yes)…

British labels body the BPI has some advice for the UK government about how to handle AI-music licensing. But will it listen?

Those cartoon KPop Demon Hunters are going on a global tour… we just don’t know when, where, who, or how yet…

The full lineup for the World Cup final half-time show has been announced. Madonna! Shakira! BTS! And… The Muppets?

You may not have heard but Steve has announced that he's reluctantly leaving the podcast... he explains why (it's not because him and Stu have had a huge diva-ish artistic differences fall-out... or is it? (No, it's not.))

And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Steve and Stu prop themselves at the bar – and Steve's definitely getting the first round in this time – as they discuss this week's bonus material:
More on Eurovision; and the reluctance of TV to make music-oriented shows

Steve reports more on what he saw and heard at The Great Escape in Brighton – and the challenge of getting good conflicting conversations on stage at conferences

Half-time live performances at football matches: do the artists get paid a fortune (or not at all?)

===================================
As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠
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 - ⁠⁠[email protected]

Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
This week... Stu's back from his travels and joins Steve to discuss beer, AI music, and Los Campesinos!:
→ $5bn is how much controversial AI-music firm Suno could be valued at – and it might raising $250... so what is it going to do with that money?
→ The phrase of the week is ‘Blue Dot Fever’, and it’s all about big tours being cancelled or delayed due to reportedly-poor ticket sales…
→ While we’re on live music, indie band Los Campesinos! have explained exactly just how much it costs to tour North America…
→ Sony Music Publishing is spending $4 billion for a company that owns a lot of songs: Recognition Music Group. And some very famous musicians’ rights are changing hands as part of the deal…
→ British charity Youth Music has warned that 37% of grassroots music projects in the UK are in danger of shutting down. But what can you do about that?
→ We’ve talked about how sales of alcohol can be crucial to the grassroots circuit. Now there’s a specific beer that’s been made to support artists on tour…
→ We talked last week about the possible delay to the UK’s ticket-touting ban. Now an update: industry bodies have been weighing in with their disappointment…
→ Clankers With Attitude are an entirely AI group, releasing entirely AI-generated music on a label that is entirely run by, yes, AIs. And if you want to listen to their new album, you have to be an AI too…
And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Steve and Stu prop themselves at the bar – and Steve's getting the first round in – as they discuss this week's bonus material:
→ More on the "Blue Dot" tickets story – why are some artists selling a lot of tickets, and others... not so much? And: is Suno really worth $5bn?
→ With the Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ recordings catalogue being sold for $300m, does this blow Stuart’s ‘the worst band in the world’ theory out of the water? And what happens to the value of a band or artist's songs if they go out of fashion?
→ Metal band Zao have been flagged as releasing AI-generated music. The only problem? It wasn’t, and they aren’t happy about the mistake…
→ Stu has heard the first release by Little Grandad at last!
===================================
As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠
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 - ⁠⁠[email protected]

Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
This week... Steve and Producer Joe grapple with some big numbers, mergers, and warnings about signing your rights away:
The UK government promised to ban ticket touting (scalping). But now the ban may be delayed for a year or so: and the industry (and Steve) is not happy....

The estates of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix's Experience bandmates, have lost a court case in which they were seeking more money from the band's albums – but why did they lose?

The resurgence of vinyl isn’t all good: LPs aren’t the most climate-friendly product. But that could be changing, and a group of independent labels wants to show how…

761 million people are now using Spotify every month, according to its latest financial results.

Talking of Spotify, you may have seen a new ‘green tick’ badge on artist profiles to verify that they are human. What’s that all about?

The music industry’s latest mega-merger will see BMG and Concord coming together - but who are these two businesses and why is this one so big - and meaningful for indie artists?

Have Taylor Swift or Rihanna tried to get you to sign up to an online service you’ve never heard of on TikTok? Here's why...

William Shatner has a full-length heavy metal album featuring 35 hand-picked collaborators from across the genre, including Dave Lombardo of Slayer, and Rob Halford of Judas Priest(!)

And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Steve and Stu prop themselves at the bar – and Steve's getting the first round in – as they discuss this week's bonus material:
More thoughts from Steve on the UK government's pause on the touting ban

Apparently Angine de Poitrine are ‘2026’s first breakout band’ according to the streaming stats. But what does Steve think about them? And what does Steve think of Dadaist Math Rock, anyway?

Plus: Grebo! Fraggle! Baggy! Which genre deserves (perhaps) a revival?

===================================
As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠
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 - ⁠⁠[email protected]

Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
This week... Stu and Steve grapple with:
→ Brace yourself - how many AI-generated tracks are being uploaded every single day now?
→ Steve uses his knowledge of London pubs to try and figure out which one Olivia Rodrigo shot her new video in... but wait: both Spotify and Apple Music have a an exclusive new Olivia Rodrigo music video. How can this be possible?
→ The UK’s voluntary levy on stadium and arena concerts is starting to pay off for the grassroots live scene - some latest news on that...
→ Superfan David joined in the debate on buying tickets at the last minute –  in particular the non-refundable fees on tickets being a possible cause of delays.
→ Greater Music Group is a brand new record label – run by an army of AIs. Is this really the future we’re heading towards? (And what vital skill does Steve realise that AI's can't do with new bands?)
→ You can get music, podcasts and audiobooks on Spotify, but now you can also get… fit?
→ With AI deepfakes getting ever more convincing, Taylor Swift, has taken action with trademark filings…
→ And introducing.... Finnish band Heavysaurus, who make “high-quality heavy metal music for children” while dressed up as dinosaurs.
And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Steve and Stu prop themselves at the bar – and Steve's getting the first round in – as they discuss this week's bonus material:
Steve has an update on the sale of the BBC's legendary Maida Vale studios – where everyone from the Beatles and Nirvana to Adele and Amy Winehouse recorded sessions

Can Stu guess how many summer festivals Little Grandad will perform at?

Vinyl is so popular now that criminals are creating fake versions of official vinyl

Record Store Day took place recently - but which records didn't sell?

===================================
As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠
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 - ⁠⁠[email protected]