Coldplay's never-ending world tour keeps selling tickets; K-Pop Demon Hunters!; What on earth is "speculative ticketing"?; Bandcamp's $3.5m Friday; and has Steve actually “gone deaf for a living?”
Aug 20, 2025
Coldplay's world tour rakes in astonishing profits while supporting grassroots venues. Discover the pros and cons of speculative ticketing and the booming K-pop scene in the U.S. as millions embrace unique subscription models. Bandcamp celebrates a massive $3.5 million sales day dedicated to artists. Plus, ponder the implications of music ownership in contract negotiations. Tune in for a lively discussion on fan experiences and the connection between music and culinary events!
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Hearing Test Humour
Steve Lamacq describes his BBC hearing test where software flagged “potential hearing loss” until age was set to 60.
He jokes about his book title Going Deaf For A Living and being declared fine for his age.
insights INSIGHT
Coldplay's Massive Tour And Giving Back
Coldplay earned about $400m from their tour last year and will play roughly 900,000 fans across ten Wembley nights.
The band pledges 10% of profits from the run to the Music Venue Trust to support grassroots venues.
insights INSIGHT
Scale Of Secondary Ticketing
StubHub reported over 40 million tickets sold last year, representing $8.87bn in transaction value but only ~$300m revenue for the platform.
That scale highlights why secondary ticketing draws intense regulatory and public scrutiny.
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If you want an easy guide to the music biz and how it all works – here we are! In this week's The Price of Music:
Stuart’s Big Number involves Coldplay, a lot of sold-out Wembley stadium gigs, and the band raising money for grass roots venues
Has Steve actually “gone deaf for a living?”
Chinese streaming platforms have a “Super VIP” subscription that costs 5x as much (and 15m people are paying for it…)
Ticketing re-selling platform StubHub: how does it work, how many tickets are being sold by users, and what on earth is “speculative ticketing”?
Bandcamp processes $3.5m of sales on the most recent Bandcamp Friday, where all money goes to artists
The soundtrack from animated pop group Netflix film K-Pop Demon Hunters has now had billions (and billions… and billions) of streams in just a few months
(Also: 25% of US kids say that K-Pop is their favourite music genre)
More badly-tracklisted albums!
• Due to high demand: more of Stu’s thoughts on Taylor Swift (her approach to buying back her recordings, not her music, honest)
And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stuart loosen their ties, lean against the bar a bit more, and chat about:
Why Liam Gallagher has been banned from throwing his tambourine into the crowd
Which 80s pop-soul singer did Steve write the tour programme for?
Olivia Rodrigo's $38 tour book – how much would you pay for your favourite artist’s book?
How much will fans pay for unreleased demos and live tracks?
• And how much stuff like that does Radiohead have in their (allegedly giant) bunker of songs?
As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!
The Price of Music