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:

→ Enigmatic duo Boards of Canada have beef with the White House. What on earth is going on?

→ €55bn: the amount that hedge fund Pershing Square WON’T be paying to buy Universal Music Group, because it has rejected the offer.

→ Last·fm was once so buzzy, a big US media corporation bought it for $280m. 19 years after that acquisition, it’s going independent again.

→ Warner Music Group is on the verge of settling its lawsuit with US cookies chain Crumbl. But why are so many brands and retailers getting sued by major labels for their social posts?

→ Another day, another 17 baffling trends on TikTok made up by young people to confuse older people. But the ‘text to song’ trend IS both amusing and interesting…

→ Talking of charts and rankings, a new site called Stream League wants to turn music releases into a fantasy-sports-style game…

→ Do you use Google’s Waze navigation app when driving? Have you always wished that its voice could be a bit more, well, a bit more Jamaican-music-royalty? Well, it’s your lucky day!

And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Stu and Joe prop themselves up at the bar – in this week's bonus material:

• Joe tries to persuade Stu, who has never listened to a Boards of Canada album, to play one of them – with the promise of satanism, the occult, biblical allusions, mathematics, numerology, cults, and, by the sound of their new LP, the end of the world itself.

• Stuart has turned one of his messaging threads into a song; and he and Joe wonder if actually we need to think about music in a whole new way now.

• Stream League! Does Stu fancy himself as an A&R now? Does he sit back in his black leather chair with his finger steepled, nodding along as he listens to new song? We find out...

===================================

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, 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]

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...

→ Geese have been one of the big breakthrough rock bands of the last year. But now some of the marketing tactics that helped them cut through are under the spotlight…

→ Live Nation has lost a major lawsuit in the US that could see it forced to sell its Ticketmaster division. But is that likely to happen?

→ 739.1m - that’s how many streams the new BTS album got in its first week (and yes, this is an official, not-made-up number this time…)

→ There’s a big argument in the UK between the Music Venue Trust and collecting society PRS for Music, and it’s all about how royalties from concerts are collected and divided…

→ While we’re on the subject of live music in the UK, a new report from a parliamentary committee made some interesting recommendations for reforms…

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 shares a story about trying to bring artist Victor Jones to the UK and wonders if he could sleep in Steve's loft;

• "Industry Plants" – the music industry's "conspiracy theory", and a chance to reminisce about major labels using offshoots to appear independent.

• Almost-free-jazz: analysis of the UK parliamentary report showing that Jazz receives only 2% of Arts Council grant money, compared to 49% for Opera and 24% for Classical music.

• Physical Tickets: do you collect your paper ticket stubs?

• 75,000 AI tracks are now uploaded to Deezer every day.

• Vintage merch value: the prices of secondhand band t-shirts are soaring –  so what have Steve and Stu got in their wardrobes?

===================================

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, 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'!

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)

===================================

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...

• $63.5bn is a very big number – but is it worth paying this much for Universal Music Group?

• A report suggests that 2025 and 2026 saw a ‘pop slump’ in the streaming charts –  but what does ‘pop slump’ even mean?

• If you were on the Artemis II moon mission, what space-related songs songs would you force your fellow astronauts to listen to?

• And another study has found that nearly half of music fans think merch is becoming unaffordable – what's your t-shirt buying budget?

• Do you have an irrational hatred of a certain artist's music – and just can't change your mind?

• People are getting hesitant about buying gig tickets – and gig cancellations due to poor ticket sales are starting to happen. Steve digs in and has some concerns.

• Celine Dion: Now Big With The Kids! (OK, maybe not The Kids, but people under the age of 35 are reviving her career...)

• Guitars, synths, drum machines... they're definitely all musical instruments. Mayonnaise? Not so much. Or is it...?

• Instagram says it’s the "home of music superfans". But what does that actually mean for those fans and their favourite artists?

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 remembers Paul Jackson, the man responsible for UK indie venue stalwart The Hull Adelphi.

• More chat on the possible takeover of Universal Music - and what does it say about the state of the most successful music company? Is it good for artists? And what about fans?

• Recommendations of music in other media: some good books to read on the music industry, and in the theatre, Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem) in the revived play Teeth 'n' Smiles.

• The huge increase in women headlining the major UK venue The O2 – and what it means about where pop is going.

===================================

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 Big Figure is... £50,000 – and it's been donated by that good egg Sam Fender... but to whom?

→ Music’s latest bitter lawsuit is Twigs versus Twigs. (That’s FKA Twigs versus indie band The Twigs, BTW.) So who really owns the name - and can people really lay claim to band names?

→ Superstar producer Timbaland has collaborated with everyone from Jay-Z to Madonna, but his latest musical partner is not so... real.

→ Grab your stetsons: we have a listener question from Pete Feldon, who wants to know if country music is really the fastest growing genre in the UK?

→ A new website called The Hidden Jams  to help people discover the obscurities in bands’ catalogues (... so what would you recommend?)

→ AI-generated songs have appeared on some people's Spotify profiles. Now the streaming service is doing something about it…

→ Last week, we reported that BTS had 300 million people watching their concert on Netflix... well, let’s just say that was a little exaggerated…

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:

→ Talking of Patreon superfans, guess who’s joined us on Patreon this month? It’s only Bob Dylan…

→ Steve's been on the road again to the 6Music Festival and elsewhere... and why was he DJing to a mostly-empty room?

→ A new website called Slop Tracker claims to show you how much money AI tracks are “draining away” from human artists. So how much is slop worth?

→ Steve and Stu dig into some of the rankings on The Hidden Jams looking for deep cuts... and some of them are not exactly an overlooked (obscure b-side ‘Mr Brightside’ is number two on The Killers’ table, for instance...)

===================================

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's back from Austin, Texas and has plenty of stories to tell about SXSW. Plus Radiohead, BTS, and, erm, Salt 'n' Pepa – all in this week's TPOM:

→ Radiohead's Ed O’Brien has revealed the band will do ‘20 shows each year: no more, no less’.

→ Steve's fresh (kind of...) back from SXSW in Austin, Texas, and here's what he saw... (plus: his travel nightmare, in full!)

→ Annoyed that Spotify doesn’t really understand you? It’s testing a feature where you can give its algorithm a shove in the right direction…

→ Last week a huge Global Music Report revealed how much money the industry made from recorded music last year. (Spoiler: it was a lot)

→ Good news for artists: the UK government has u-turned on its plan for how AIs can be trained on music.

→ 300 million people (reportedly) watched K-Pop’s biggest stars BTS in their livestreamed comeback

→ Black Music has contributed £24.5bn out of the £30bn made by the UK music industry over the last 30 years.

→ Big Nostalgia Tour Bingo: Salt-n-Pepa, TLC AND En Vogue are hitting the road together…

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:

→ We hear more about SXSW from Steve, including his band tips...

→ Are Kiss and Tina Turner about to receive the ABBA Voyage treatment?

→ And is the virtual avatar show experience the only way we'll see The Smiths back onstage (and how would they programme Morrissey's grumpy ad-libs?)

→ What did Steve 'n' Stu think of last week's (great!) Picture Parlour interview?

→ Could the 6Music Dads turn into a national community of local gig assistants?

→ Why is Belgium and the Nordics the hot new place for artists to break?

===================================

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]