The Price of Music

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

In this week's show, Steve and Stuart get to grips with government legislation and bands turning down big bucks:Stu’s Big Number: after some gentle ribbing from Steve on last week's (small) Big Number, Stu returns with a whopper: 2.5 trillion - but what is it?Will Drake face Kendrick Lamar in the witness box?Steve takes a 13-point "personality test" to see if he's a music SuperfanBreaking news from the UK governmental inquiry into streaming payments to artists and songwriters;Los Campesinos! turn down a $60,000 offer from Airbnb to use their music in an advert – but why?...and how does music sync – where songs get put into TV ads and movies, etc – work anyway?What's the connection between Taylor Swift and Five Finger Death Punch?And in the special post-show section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stu get classical and chat about:Which fanclub Steve was a member of as a 14-year-old;Steve visits the First night of the PromsIs classical music expensive – or actually cheap in the era of £250 tickets?Are too many heritage bands touring now? Will people stop buying tickets?What's the average price of a gig ticket now, anyway?In the era of no physical tickets, are selfies at the show the new "keeping the ticket stub"?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

In this week's show, Steve and Stuart cover a lot of ground, including:Stu’s Big Number: it seems small (1000), but that’s how many days Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” has topped the Apple Music chartHow do songwriters actually earn their money – a new report reveals the truth (part of which is that a lot of them are struggling)Which well-known bands are also performing as cover bands to make cash?Why Spotify are under investigation in Turkey – and what does it have to do with golden toilets?How fictional (but not AI!) bands from a Netflix K-Pop animation are getting lots of listeners on streaming platformsAnd much, much more (including Ozzy Osbourne’s chimpanzee collaboration)And in the special post-show section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stu chat about:Steve’s latest new band tip,Unusual merch (including poorly-timed mug purchases, and expensive AA batteries),Steve’s Noel Gallagher spoon-in-a-champagne-bottle anecdote origin story,The duo pitch for podcast sponsorship from the Milk Marketing Board,Dad-dancing at gigs, and more…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

Steve and Stuart are back in the new and - oh yes - improved The Price of Music!In this episode:The Velvet Sundown are a fully-AI-generated band that have over a million listeners on Spotify – is this a tipping point – and should human artists worry?Oasis are back – so how much money did each show make (and how much of it is VAT?The band Deerhoof have pulled their music from Spotify in protest at co-founder Daniel Ek's investments into a weapons startupThe proposed takeover of indie conglomerate Downtown Music by Universal Music is starting to get tetchy...Steve wonders: who owns your songs if your record label goes bust?and more!As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any niggling questions you might have about how the music biz works that Steve and Stuart can answer.Email us: thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.comSteve 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.comThe Price of Music is a Music Ally production:https://musically.com

The Price of Music is returning on Wednesday 9th July 2025– and each week we’ll be exploring some of the big music stories of the past seven days. Steve and Stuart will be finding out where the money’s going and attempting to explain how the industry works.We'll bring you the headline figures, the hot topics of the week; and discussing what it all means for us as music fans.So whether it's record deals or streaming royalties; ticket prices or technology, we’ll be helping to demystify what goes on behind the scenes and what makes the music industry tick.We will also be answering your questions and interviewing key music biz people, from artists to A&R scouts; from managers to moguls.

Steve and Stuart look at Spotify's response to Kate Nash’s latest comments about streaming royalties, and discuss the news that Warner Music is in the final stages of testing its superfan app, with heavy involvement from Ed Sheeran.Send in your questions for Stuart and Steve on thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.comFollow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodSupport The Price of Music on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusicFor sponsorship, email - joe@musically.comThe Price of Music is a Music Ally production:https://musically.com

Steve and Stuart find out why AI music startup Suno is in hot water again, and discuss the news that South African artists have doubled their Spotify payouts over the last three years.Send in your questions for Stuart and Steve on thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.comFollow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodSupport The Price of Music on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusicFor sponsorship, email - joe@musically.comThe Price of Music is a Music Ally production:https://musically.com