The Price of Music

Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. And in this week’s episode of The Price of Music, Steve and Stu wrap their minds around...How much would it cost to buy Coldplay’s very first single today?; Steve reveals the “best new band he’s seen in months”;A proper AI vs human band dust up!;Are the major labels about to sign deals with music-generating AI platforms?A splendidly indignant speech from RAYE;Major labels are buying up indie businesses – and now hundreds of indie labels are very angry;The Spotify CEO is “stepping down” (and yet is still somehow the boss);How have Steve and Stu finally removed ‘Baby Shark’ from their music algorithm?;Listeners' letters: how on earth did the UK once have four weekly music newspapers? And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stuart prop themselves at the bar to chat about:Steve and Stu wonder exactly why second-hand records are so expensive at the moment (and how disappointingly little is Steve’s teenage copy of “Message In A Bottle” on green vinyl worth?)And more on Slady - the only all-female Slade tribute band, don’t forget – and on buying tickets in advance.Do bands get a better reception when they travel to remote cities to perform?Should we call AI artists “artists” – or something else entirely?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.com⁠⁠See you next week!Steve and Stuart======Support The Price of Music on Patreon:⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship opportunities, please email - ⁠⁠joe@musically.com

Steve dives into the evolution of music journalism, reflecting on its past and questioning its future in a digital world. He reveals Spotify's shocking removal of 75 million 'spam' tracks, prompting a discussion about what qualifies as a spam song. The importance of TikTok to music trends is highlighted, especially with the resurgence of tracks from artists like Billie Eilish and Rihanna. The ongoing debate about how to file records brings a quirky twist, while Steve ponders if today’s influencers are replacing traditional music journalists.

This week dives into the shocking withdrawal of Massive Attack's music from Spotify, sparking a debate on corporate ethics and AI connections. The ongoing legal troubles for Ticketmaster raise questions about ticket resale practices. Lizzo challenges the relevance of traditional music videos, advocating for genuine, short clips instead. The hosts explore the curious resurgence of 'My Humps' among younger audiences. Additionally, discussions on AI-generated music raise ethical dilemmas, highlighting the evolving landscape of the music industry.

Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. In this week’s action-packed episode of The Price of Music: a bunch of extremely interesting music biz questions are answered by our intrepid duo...Stu’s Big Number is 30,000 and relates to the number of AI-generated songs… but why so many songs and where are they going?Why are Radiohead’s fans getting angry about tickets (“that don’t exist”)?The Great TPOM Record-Filing Debate continues: do you file Van Morrison under ‘V’ or ‘M’? And where does a record by the band 86TVs go?Why has Spotify given paying users lossless music for free (and is ‘Lossless’ a long-lost My Bloody Valentine album?Did Steve and Stu cause Morrissey to get so many offers for his Smiths songs that he deleted his email address?How did King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard fill the entire Top 30 album chart on Bandcamp (and why)?What is the (depressing) reason that Bad Bunny has chosen not to tour in the mainland USA?How much is Bjork’s VR album re-master?And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stuart prop themselves at the bar to chat about:The UK’s Mercury Prize shortlist has been announced – what do Steve and Stu think of the finalists and why is Steve “flabbergasted” by one specific missing nominee?Steve and Stu’s true feelings about lossless audio - is it actually worth it?What is the sole record on Steve’s Discogs Want List, and why does he regret not buying it when it came up for sale recently?What is Stu’s ideal Christmas gift? And could it possibly be connected to The Black Crowes, much to Steve’s amusement?Can you guess Steve’s response to Stu saying “I should now give you a lecture on The Black Crowes’ ‘Amorica’ album”?What is the best song about the fans of The Smiths?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.com⁠⁠See you next week!Steve and Stuart======Support The Price of Music on Patreon:⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship, email - ⁠⁠joe@musically.com

Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. In this week’s The Price of Music: an urgent-ish delve into the news that Morrissey has announced he wants to sell his ownership of The Smiths’ songs… including a suggestion from Steve and Stu about how Johnny Marr might buy the songs off Morrissey via a gmail address that Morrissey put online.And then Steve and Stu take a deep dive into a fantastic question from listener Simon who asked: artists often say that they are not making enough money from music streaming but are artists REALLY worse off today in the music streaming age?To answer this, Steve and Stu wander down some... interesting pathways. They:talk to their Top Secret Sources in the artist and label world, and found out the answer… (which may surprise you);hypothesise about both Mazzy Star AND Bonnie Tyler’s record contracts;chat to Spotify, which reveals to our dynamic duo about how much they paid Mazzy Star and Bonnie Tyler(!);wonder how being a ‘radio artist’ pays compared to a ‘streaming artist’;dig into artist deals: because the money paid from streaming doesn’t go to the artist first;ask why the artists who ARE doing well from streaming platforms aren’t talking about it?…and tangentially… is TPOM better to listen to on a treadmill than Hi-NRG house music? A brief discussion.And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stuart prop themselves at the bar to chat about:The time Steve worked in a record shop for a day; and he immediately faced a quandary: which letter should he file PJ Harvey under?Steve gently chides Stu over his love of a Songs Of The Summer Stats List from TikTok, which includes a load of old nostalgia songsRadiohead are back – and how do you sell tickets to shows that will be massively-oversubscribed and make sure those tickets get to real fans?After Covid’s impact, money spent on live music is up - and more popular than ever.  But what were Steve and Stu’s first gigs after Covid?A call for your suggestions of hard-to-file records!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.com⁠See you next week!Steve and Stuart======Support The Price of Music on Patreon:⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship, email - ⁠joe@musically.com

Discover The Weeknd's staggering 5 billion Spotify streams and the mystery behind his billion-dollar plans. Explore ABBA Gold's record 1,216 weeks on the UK chart and debate The Smiths' track sequencing. Learn about Spotify's reintroduced in-app messaging and Apple Music Radio's exciting expansion. TikTok breathes new life into Radiohead's 'Let Down' while Bandcamp launches curated clubs for music lovers. And don’t miss the quirky segment on rocket-fuel tank speakers!

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!

Spotify raises subscription prices again, sparking debates on its impact. The duo discusses the controversy of album track orders, questioning which classics got it wrong. Interestingly, Napster faces a lawsuit, prompting thoughts of the early 2000s. Plus, they explore the surprisingly easy path to achieving a #1 album today. And for a fun twist, Steve shares his tip on getting into sold-out gigs, while Stuart reflects on his late-night anticipation of a Taylor Swift announcement.

This week, Steve and Stuart find out that they both went to see Oasis last week, but try not to spend the whole show talking about it; and instead get stuck into all this:Beyoncé’s tour is the most successful country tour of all time; Steve and Stu both go to watch Oasis - but what did they think?;Stu’s Big Number: Spotify wants One. Billion. Subscribers; Tomorrowland festival gets 74 million viewers on Tiktok; Hayley Williams lets fans who buy her hair dye listen to her songs first;and Cardi B has “a full-on cheese experience” with “drippy cheese” (Stuart’s words, not Cardi B’s)And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stu chat about:Steve and Stu check out the Oasis merch (official and unofficial); They compare their experiences of seeing Oasis at Wembley - and which member of Oasis looked “a bit glum”?;How much do ticket holders spend in total when they go and see Oasis?They find a few more interesting points in Spotify’s earnings call – what does the company say about AI and music?Steve recounts when his label released Elastica’s debut album and what happens when no-one can agree on the track listing (They also further explore the world of “drippy cheese”)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.comSee you next week!Steve and Stuart======Support The Price of Music on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusicFollow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship, email - joe@musically.com

Steve and Stuart rummage through the TPOM inbox and pull out some brand new listeners' questions to answer (send yours into us here: thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.com) – Does the money from a stream get split evenly?Do artists get paid if a festival is cancelled?How do music-making AIs get trained?What is Spotify's Discovery Mode?PLUS: they go over the UK government's reforms for artists.And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stu chat about:Is the music industry really ready for the AI revolution or is it about to be caught on the hop?How many author pseudonyms has Steve used over the years?Which fan club was Stu in, and why did someone burp at him down a telephone as a result?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======Support The Price of Music on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusicFollow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship, email - joe@musically.com