The Price of Music
The Price of Music: your essential weekly music biz explainer – with Stuart Dredge and Joe Sparrow. Become a Price of Music Superfan and get extra content every week – at patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship email - [email protected] Price of Music is a Music Ally production:https://musically.com/[email protected]
The Weeknd's 4-year world tour; Robbie Williams has no beef with Olivia Rodrigo; Stu's hot tip for Christmas #1!; Daddy Yankee's microdrama; and more...
What's that jingling noise? It's the most wonderful sound of Christmas: Mariah Carey's wheelbarrow of cash, filled to the brim with festive royalties. This week, on TPOM, Stu 'n' Joe gaze into their festival crystal bauble and...
→ It’s that time of year again, where Mariah Carey’s promo machine starts to crank up and where Stu reveals with absolute confidence who’s going to be the UK Christmas number one…
→ Talking of Christmas songs, Olivia Rodrigo’s new one sounds a bit like Robbie Williams 2012 hit ‘Candy’. Is he going to sue her for plagiarism? No he...
Sam Fender's golden circle ticket trouble; YouTube is no longer a 'value gap'; Making AI music inside AI chatbots; Celebrating Aussie music (and UK music); and Lily Allen's hallowe'en ticket terror!
It's a golden episode of TPOM this week, as Stu and Joe splash around in a whole load of fascinating facts and curious quirks from the last week in the music business, including:
→ Sam Fender already has one of the hottest tours of 2027 in the UK, but the ticketing has been sparking conversation for a couple of reasons…
→ We need to talk about Public Displays of Affection Down Under. But don’t worry, this isn’t something that’ll get you kicked off the bus or arrested…
→ 150 million people now pay to subscribe to... which onli...
What is slop and spam music? (And why is there so much of it?) Daft Punk Lego! What makes venues "fair" for artists? Killing Grannies! Michael Bublé! And more...
Stuart is back, back, BACK, baby, and he returns with some giant numbers, a lot of slop, and hypothetically granny-murdering AI chatbots. In this week's episode....
→ How many millions of ‘slop and spam tracks’ Spotify has kicked out of its recommendations in 2026 alone? And what is it anyway?
→ A new campaign in the US wants venues to treat artists more fairly. But what does that mean?
→ Joe was in Manchester in the last week, chatting to the great and good of the British music industry about new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. What do they think...
Is music radio making a comeback? Or did it never go away? And what is different about music radio in 2026? We find out...
With Stuart under the weather and taking a well-earned rest to recover his lost voice, Joe wrangles full control of the podcast for one week only, and gets stuck into a question that will resonate with most TPOM fans: what's going on with music radio?
You'd think that, with music streaming booming, and personalised algorithmic feeds promising to dominate music discovery, music radio would be fading. But it's not - the opposite, in fact. And, it's changing into something more interesting – the centre of discovery and community around genres, niches and scenes.
Joe is joined by...
How much should billionaires pay for music? What would you pay for unheard Oasis gig recordings? How many songs has Peppa Pig made? And when is it too early to listen to Christmas songs?
This week on The Price Of Music, we end up talking philosophically about the, erm, price of music (as well as the actual philosophical value of it):
→ If you were considering spending up to £1.6m on some unheard Oasis recordings at auction this month, well, we have some bad news for you…
→ Chicago band The Empty Pockets have a special edition of their new album just for billionaires. It’s a snip at just $285,000, with absolutely no extras compared to the $20 edition for the rest of us…
→ 1,300. That’s how many original songs have been relea...
Viagogo gets feisty over new accusations; How much are Oasis tickets selling for?; UK anti-touting laws?; Sylvan Esso reluctantly back on Spotify; and more extreme weather show cancellations
This week on The Price Of Music, there's a vague but tangible 'us vs them' theme, and lot of hoo-ha about secondary ticketing:
Secondary-ticketing firm Viagogo is having its latest public argument in the UK, with anti-touting group FanFair Alliance. And it’s all about Manchester, and ticketing at smaller venues...
Meanwhile 30 miles west of Manchester, it’s the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, and the Creative Industries Minister has promised that the long-promised crackdown on ticket touts will happen “quicker than we initially intended”. But what’s really going to happen?
Sylvan Esso quit...
Making sense of the Ed Sheeran situation; The million-pound fake vinyl factory; Will there be a new Oasis album?; AI pioneer speaks to TPOM; and The Ace Of Shatner!
It's a MEGA-BUMPER episode this week, as Stu and Joe not only go over the biggest stories of the week, but also track down the man who pioneered AI generated music – and give him a good grilling*...
(*it actually turns out he doesn't like most AI generated music either...)
This week on The Price Of Music:
→ Just how many records were found by police when they raided the factory owned by a British businessman who’s just been sent to prison for vinyl fraud?
→ The show goes on for Ed Sheeran in his US...
Beyoncé's $900 record box (records not included); Macklemore, Ed Sheeran and politics on-stage; The giant streaming platform you've never heard of; The UK 'homegrown' artist chart; and more!
This week, Stu and Joe tread verrrrrry carefully around a bunch of hot-button topics: on-stage politics, billionaires billionaire-ing, and whether AI music is getting to the believable stage. In this week's show:
You've probably already heard about the Macklemore and Ed Sheeran kerfuffle over the former's statements on Palestine. Now one big festivals promoter has launched an ‘artistic code’ explaining its policies when artists make statements on-stage...
The UK now has a ‘homegrown’ albums chart to showcase British artists. What’s it for, and will it work?
167 million people are using a streaming platform c...
Artists sue Suno! Soft rock! Virtual snarky record-shop clerks! A 16-year old 'song of the summer'! And... chicken ice cream?
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. As ever, Stu and Joe take a closer look at this week's music industry news, including:
→ TikTok’s ‘Song of the Summer’ this year is by HOT NEW BREAKING artist, erm, Katy Perry, and her 16-year old song ‘The One That Got Away’. So what is a summertime hit nowadays anyway?
→ Yes, yes, another lawsuit against AI-music firm Suno – but this one has a twist: it’s from musicians, rather than labels or publishers… and these artists won't back down easily.
→ Meanwhile, another arti...
Grand Theft Cliff; Are festivals being cancelled because of the climate crisis?; Gina's Pet Bangers!; SoundCloud sells WAVs and much more
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe plan an ultraviolent trip through the criminal underworld* as they take a look at this week's music industry news, including:
→ We’re all going on a summer holiday… (a summer holiday that involves cocaine, strip clubs and lots of shooting people in the face.) Yes, the Cliff Richard / Grand Theft Auto crossover you've all been waiting for is here at last! *Yes, this is the extent of their violent plans, sorry.
→ The popular US Bonnaroo festival is taking a year o...
Should Netflix offer music streaming too? Are YouTube view counts meaningless now? Is music blogging back (inside Spotify?) Which song would you remix? Christian Metal vs KPop Demon Hunters!
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe show their age as they reference 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s pop culture whilst discussing this week's music industry news, including:
→ Should Netflix add streaming music to its streaming video? Warner Music Group’s boss thinks so.
→ Universal Music Group has signed a high-profile licensing deal with remixing app Hook. So what is Hook, and are fan-made remixes really the next big thing in music then?
→ YouTube counts a ‘view’ as soon as a video begins to play, eve...
Artists pressure Andy Burnham over oil; Grammys removes foot from mouth; More popstar football sponsors; and why aren't Berlin clubbers drinking as much?
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe revel in an extremely varied week of music biz news (including some more great pop football shirts AND a brand new jingle):
→ 200 musicians have written a letter to the UK's new prime minister Andy Burnham. No, it's not to tell him New Order are rubbish. It's a protest against a decision he might be taking soon...
→ $121bn. That’s how much recorded-music will be worth globally in 2033 according to the latest industry forecasts – but will it be that big, and...
Is the music streaming boom over? Is an AI-song about to become a real hit? Which lower league Welsh football club would YOUR favourite artist sponsor? And much more...
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe wade into share prices, EU Law, and German legal judgements... NO WAIT, COME BACK! These are all actually really interesting insights into modern pop music and how it connects with the humans who make it and enjoy it (honest.)
Plus, TPOM Superfans get to hear Joe and Stu go deep – some may say too deep – into minor league Welsh football clubs seeking musical sponsorship opportunities. In this week's show:
Universal Music Group is worth now than it was at the...
Music streaming fraud – how does it work, who's making millions, and why does it need so much AI music?
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe pivot the podcast to the popular TRUE CRIME format in order to woo a giant mainstream audience. OK, not quite – but sort-of.
We’ve spoken a lot recently about AI-generated music accounting for 50% of music uploaded to streaming platforms – and how the reason for it, mostly, is for it to be used for fraud. We had a few emails asking: so, how does AI music help fraudsters, and how does streaming fraud work anyway?
So we pulled on our tre...
Andy Burnham gives UK grassroots venues hope; Spotify takes on YouTube; Emo is big in Mexico; Suno user data hacked; and... K-POP SHARKS!
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe comb their Emo fringes, use a tie as a belt, and pout about this week's music industry news:
→ A surprising percentage of Americans are actually MORE interested in music if it was made using AI – according to a new survey.
→ In last week’s episode, we talked about a data breach at Suno that seemed to have given the game away on what music it trained its models on. But there’s been a development…
→ Spotify has a brand new...
Over 50% of new songs uploaded are now AI-made(!); Lorde bashes Meta and Spotify; Why is Keith Richards in Roblox?; Is the Michael Jackson movie Bad or a Thriller?
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe are back from two weeks' holiday in Rhyl – and immediately hop into a golf cart along with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho to go through this week's music biz news:
→ More than 50%(!) of all new music being uploaded to streaming services is now AI-generated. How might the music industry respond to this? With... a system of labels (not the record kind…)
→ Stu's Big Number is 1.124 billion... but which mega-song does it relate to? (If you’re a parent, you’ll know it only...
Making records out of recycled plastic bottles for Coldplay and Lorde
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe are still on their summer holidays in Rhyl, but before they packed their bags, they had a chat with the team behind EcoRecord. It's a PVC-free, injection-moulded alternative to the traditional vinyl record, which cuts factory energy use by up to 85%, and swaps PVC for recyclable PET plastic. Recently, artists like Coldplay and Lorde have released versions of their albums using the process.
We chatted to Sven Deutschmann, CEO of record manufacturer Sonopress, about what he's learned over the last...
StubHub UK fined for ticket pricing; Artists' AI training pressure; Suno gives artists money; James Blake vs journalists; Artists' open letter for Fossil Fuel Treaty.
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe get ready for their summer holidays and punt a beachball at this week's music biz news:
How much has controversial secondary-ticketing firm StubHub has just been fined in the UK for illegal ‘drip pricing’? (Also, what is that?)
The news seems bit AI-heavy this week, but it's actually all about artists:
→ 31 groups representing artists and managers have written an open letter about AI music… but it’s not AI companies who it’s addressed to…
→ AI-music c...
Music prediction markets: a half-billion dollar business based on guessing what will happen in music...
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe focus on one very interesting and rapidly-developing story in the music biz...
Did you know that music fans and industry insiders have quietly built a massive half-billion-dollar market trading purely on pop culture gossip and chart data? Stuart and Joe take a deeper look at how prediction platforms saw a staggering $400 million staked on "music outcomes" on a single app alone in the first half of 2026. That includes a mind-boggling $110 million wagered by people just to guess what the opening...
The Happy Mondays want to sell you a giant pill; World Cup songs: reviewed; Lionel Richie's phrases trademarked; YouTube's AI clause; Tupac is back (again); plus much more...
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe go football crazy and stick a reducer early doors on this week's music biz news:
→ 270. That’s how many ‘unofficial anthems’ called ‘World Cup 2026’ have been uploaded to Deezer… and 70% of them are AI slop.
→ YouTube reckons that its terms of service allow it to use independent musicians’ uploads to train AI models. Is that really true?
→ Tupac Shakur has been dead for 30 years – or HAS he, etc etc – but if you think that will stop him returning to his acti...
The UK's fan-led live music revolution: saving grassroots venues & fixing ticket rip-off pricing – with Lord Kevin Brennan and Shain Shapiro
Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works.
This week: two very special guests talk about how to actually make important change happen in the UK’s live industry at grassroots level, and improve the live music fan's experience: we welcome back Lord Kevin Brennan of Canton, Labour member of the House of Lords and a recording musician himself.
We also speak to Shain Shapiro, who amongst other things is author of This Must Be The Place: How Music Can Make Your City Better. (They are both speaking about this on...
Boards of Canada beef with, erm, The White House; Turning text message drama into songs; Universal says "no" to $55bn; Stream League lets you play Fantasy A&R; Last•fm goes indie; and more!
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...
Ozzy Osbourne is... back?; Spotify's new tickets-for-fans feature; Does recycled vinyl sound good?; Drake's hit trio of albums; and Badger Badger Badger Badger...
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, Badg...
Bangaranga post-Eurovision; Zara Larsson’s virtual pyjamas; Steve’s big announcement; How many songs have you heard on Spotify?; Plus: World Cup Muppets!
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 s...
Los Campesinos! share US tour costs; Blue Dot Fever; 37% of UK grassroots venues in danger; AI label has AI band making AI music for AI fans; Drink beer, support artists!; and much more...
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’...
William Shatner's metal album; The Jimi Hendrix High Court Experience; Recycled vinyl; The UK's ban on touting/scalping is on pause; Big Spotify numbers; and more...
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...
Which pub was Olivia Rodrigo drinking Guinness in? Can AIs run a record label? Taylor Swift trademarks her speaking voice; AND... Heavy metal dinosaurs.
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 stadi...
Live Nation loses in court; Strong Opinions On Geese (of course); Live royalty argy-bargy; and live music reform in the UK...
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...
Radiohead's secret bunker; the Kanye/Wireless fallout; and how is the world's oldest record shop preparing for Record Store Day 2026? We chat to owner Ashli Todd to find out...
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 o...
Is merch getting unaffordable?; Bands cancelling gigs due to low ticket sales; Are we in a "Pop Slump"?; Music in space; Do you have irrational hate for a specific artist?; and Celine Dion is back?!
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 ne...
Twigs Vs Twigs! Just how big is country music in the UK now?; Timbaland's new artist is unreal; Digging for deep cuts; and how much is AI Slop worth?
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 mu...
Radiohead's twenty-show limit; Spotify lets you tweak its algorithm; Steve's SXSW debrief; BTS' mega-livestream; and... Salt-n-Pepa!
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!)
→...
Asking fans to help wind the cables: Picture Parlour on what it's really like to be a touring indie band in 2026
Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy a weekly Superfan Lock-in section!
This week Katherine and Ella from ace UK indie band Picture Parlour talk about the stark economic realities of being a touring artist in the modern music industry. They're joined by David Martin from the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), who explains why his organisation is handing out top-up financial support to help artists like Picture Parlour get out on the road.
(As ever, our Patreon Superfans get the full interview with e...
Radiohead and Kesha are furious; Artists are struggling to tour; Football cosies up to music; and buying a slice of your favourite artist
Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy a weekly Superfan Lock-in section!
This week... Steve's about to head off to SXSW in Austin, Texas, so we interrupted him as he was packing his suitcases, and grapple with non-league football, buying pieces of your favourite artist, why Tr*mp deliberately annoys artists by using their music, and much more, all in this week's TPOM:
→ How many millions of Instagram views did the Brit Awards got this year – and why is that now An Impo...
Phonk: the biggest genre you've (probably) not heard of; Only 20% of the 2025 UK Top 100 were performed by UK artists; What is 'radio plugging'?; and your ashes in an urn that's also a speaker...
Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy a weekly Superfan Lock-in section!
This week... Steve and Stu get Phonky with the biggest overlooked genre in the world: so what is Phonk anyway? Also on TPOM this week:
How much music streaming is “passive” – where the platform chooses what you listen to?
What impact does that have on our listening habits – and just who is controlling what we listen to?
A listener question: what is “radio plugging” and how doe...
Bigger than Ed Sheeran – have you heard of Mrs Green Apple? Why are so many old bands in the album charts? (And so few in the singles chart?) Plus: The Wiggles!
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy a weekly Superfan Lock-in section!
This week... Steve and Stu dig into the charts – and take a look at a load of data that’s been released about singles, albums and streams:
Do you know Japanese rock band Mrs Green Apple? They were the 13th biggest artist in the world last year. (Bigger than Eminem, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber)
The Fleetwood Mac chart syndrome: why are there so many old bands in the...
“Managers do a lot more than they used to...” – super-manager Niamh Byrne on Gorillaz, how the role of manager is changing, and more
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works: don't forget - you can become a Superfan of the podcast for free – and access an extra 20 mins of show each week!
This week, it's time for another interview with one of the people who make it all happen. Steve speaks to Niamh Byrne, who managed Blur, Elastica, and Turin Brakes, before founding Eleven management, which works with artists like Damon Albarn and Gorillaz – and she’s also the chair of the Music Managers Forum, the global organisation that represents music managers.
So... she is a gre...
Why did Taylor Swift snub YouTube? Did Bad Bunny's Superbowl show boost his streaming numbers? Do teenagers want to go to gigs any more?
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works: don't forget - you can become a Superfan of the podcast for free – and access an extra 20 mins of show each week!
This week, Steve and Stu get stuck into:
Stu's big number is $60 billion... and it's how much money YouTube made in 2025. But how much of this goes to music makers?
Taylor Swift’s new music video was deliberately delayed before it hit YouTube this week, but why?
Who cares what the US president thought about Bad Bunny - after...
Have world tours stopped doing the "tour" part?; Apple Music had 2bn(!) fraudulent streams in 2025; Spotify pays out $11bn; and Bonnie Tyler speaks out!
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works – and this week Steve and Stu grapple with Harry Styles, Bonnie Tyler and Bruno Mars...
Don't forget - you can become a Superfan of the podcast for free – and access an extra 20 mins of show each week!
Stu's big number is $11bn - and that’s how much Spotify paid out to the music industry in 2025. But will that be enough to get its critics off its back?
Apple Music identified up to 2 billion fraudulent streams on its service in 2...
The battle to keep one of the UK's great grassroots venues alive, buying the venue with the help of the community, and the many challenges small venues face in 2026 – with Ricky Bates of The Joiners
Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works – and this week they speak to Ricky Bates, head of booking and promotion at the Joiners in Southampton - one of the UK’s great grassroots venues. But first they chat about:
Half a million pounds is being distributed in the UK to grassroots venues artists and events - and it’s money gathered from the levy on ticket sales in the UK. Steve and Stu discuss how this money is being spent – and how it will make a difference.
Last week, Steve spoke to...
