The Price of Music: 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...

Here's a taste of our other podcast, The Price Of Music, presented by Steve Lamacq and Stuart Dredge – it's your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works, Like what you hear? Subscribe to TPOM now! https://MusicAlly.lnk.to/TPOMThis 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'!Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠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/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠⁠Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship opportunities, please email - ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

Ep. 180: Music consumption today is borderless, but the systems that manage it have historically been national. Now, collective management organisations are undergoing their most significant transformation in decades. On one hand, they are becoming global infrastructure players, scaling systems, data and partnerships to match worldwide music consumption. On the other, they are redefining their relationship with creators whose ways of making, monetising and collaborating are changing just as rapidly.We're joined by Caroline Champarnaud, Sacem's Director of International, and Julien Dumon, Director of Digital. They talk about how CMOs are evolving into interconnected, global infrastructure players. We explore the challenges of global metadata, why international partnerships with organisations like ASCAP and GEMA are more vital than ever, and how Sacem is scaling its systems to match the explosive growth of music streaming in emerging markets.SACEM: Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of MusicThis is the third in a special series of Music Ally Focus made in collaboration with Sacem, exploring the evolution of collective management in the modern music industry – looking at technology, policy, copyright and more. In the next episode, we’ll discuss the evolution of CMOs further, and how the global infrastructure only works if it ultimately serves creators, whose needs are evolving just as fast as the systems built to support them.=========In the first episode in the series, ⁠David El Sayegh, Deputy CEO of Sacem⁠, discussed how the organisation is defining the future of copyright.In the second episode, we were joined by Julien Lefebvre, the Head of Innovation and Sacem Lab, to talk about its startup partnerships, and the strategic decision to open up certain proprietary technologies to all creators.=======This is a Music Ally Co-Labs podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/music-ally-co-labs⁠⁠⁠. Co-Labs content is created by publishing partners in liaison with the Music Ally Editorial Team. We work closely with partners to ensure that it adheres to Music Ally's high expectations of quality, thoughtfulness, and usefulness.

Ep. 179: It's a Very Special Episode of Music Ally’s Focus podcast in which Stuart Dredge and Joe Sparrow can roll up their sleeves and look at the impact that AI is having on streaming in 2026 – and there’s a whole lot of nuance, what-if’s, and context to rummage around in.It's all connected to Music Ally's latest Insight Report (available to Music Ally Subscribers here: https://musically.com/category/reports) – and that report focuses on 5 “C”’s of AI and streaming. Stu and Joe picked two of the biggest: Crunch Time, and Creativity:Crunch Time: AI and the music industry are finally at a true inflection point where decisions need to be made and lines need to be drawn. So where’s that line: how much of a song can be AI-generated before it’s classed as “AI music” – or is there a dawning reality that this is not even a distinction that can be made any more?Creativity: If it’s not realistic to divide songs into “AI” and “not AI” piles, should we instead not be asking “is AI truly creative?”, but “how will people be truly creative when using AI?” And is the pie being grown when a poet adds their words to an AI-generated song, or a teenage producer samples AI-music they generate?It’s a spirited, feisty and opinionated conversation (i.e. Stu and Joe agreeably disagreed a little bit) – and it’ll help you to get up to speed with two of the key issues that we’ll all deal with in some way or another this year.

Ep. 178: Collective management is no longer just about collecting royalties; it's about innovating infrastructure and offering direct services. So we're joined by Julien Lefebvre, the Head of Innovation and Sacem Lab, to talk about the Lab project, its startup partnerships, and the strategic decision to open up certain proprietary technologies (including blockchain applications) to all creators, redefining the role of a CMO as a global tech enabler.He discusses: balancing Sacem's priorities with the current volatile music ecosystem; the Musicstart service, where anyone –Sacem members or not – can use their tool to secure permanent "proof of creation" of their music; how the organisation is collaborating with fellow CMOs like GEMA and ASCAP; and how the music-tech startup landscape is moving away from "hype" tech.Read more here:  SACEM, Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (https://presse.sacem.fr/?lang=en)This is the second in a special series of Music Ally Focus made in collaboration with Sacem, exploring the evolution of collective management in the modern music industry – looking at technology, policy, copyright and more. =========In the first episode in the series, David El Sayegh, Deputy CEO of Sacem, discussed how the organisation is defining the future of copyright.Over the next two episodes, we will continue to dive into how collective management is having to move with the times: exploring how one of the world’s leading CMOs is navigating a landscape redefined by artificial intelligence, global scaling, and the changing needs of modern creators.=======This is a Music Ally Co-Labs podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/music-ally-co-labs⁠⁠. Co-Labs content is created by publishing partners in liaison with the Music Ally Editorial Team. We work closely with partners to ensure that it adheres to Music Ally's high expectations of quality, thoughtfulness, and usefulness.

Ep. 177: Generative AI, copyright, and collection. Welcome to a special Music Ally Focus podcast series made in collaboration with Sacem, exploring the evolution of collective management in the modern music industry – looking at technology, policy, copyright and more. In the first episode: Generative AI is no longer a future concept – it is a fundamental tool in today's creative process. But as the amount of AI-generated content increases, so do the complexities of music rights – and the number of questions that songwriters, artists and rightsholders have. So we spoke to David El Sayegh, Deputy CEO of collecting society Sacem, to discuss how the organisation is defining the future of copyright. We explored Sacem’s strategic approach to the AI revolution, from building a shared understanding of policy to the practical technologies being tested in the Sacem Lab, to protect human creativity and ensure fair revenue exists in this new landscape. And, we ask El Sayegh: if we are in the middle of a huge shift in AI-driven music creation and consumption, what are the revenue opportunities – and financial risks – for creators and CMOs stemming from this?It's a broad and deep discussion from the top: he also discussed Sacem's official stance on AI training models, how they are protecting the notion of human creativity – and the new technologies being developed to ensure creators are fairly compensated in an AI-driven world. Explore more: https://flyer.sacemenligne.fr/IA/EN/index.html=========Over the next three episodes, we continue to dive into how collective management is having to move with the times: exploring how one of the world’s leading CMOs is navigating a landscape redefined by artificial intelligence, global scaling, and the changing needs of modern creators.=======This is a Music Ally Co-Labs podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/music-ally-co-labs⁠. Co-Labs content is created by publishing partners in liaison with the Music Ally Editorial Team. We work closely with partners to ensure that it adheres to Music Ally's high expectations of quality, thoughtfulness, and usefulness.

Ep. 176: In 2026, labels, artists, musicians and creators are all working differently: generating millions of micro-royalties every month across global campaigns that involve multiple of partners across dozens of countries. Getting your music out there is easier than ever, but processing that increased volume of payouts becomes more complex – and we all have an expectation to get paid fast, and see what’s going on and what we’re owed at any given time. So to find out what’s happening at the point where all those payment pipes meet, in this latest episode of Music Ally Focus, we partnered with a fintech company that processes tens of billions of payments each year – Tipalti, which works closely with labels like Ninja Tune to pay their artists what they’re owed. We chatted to Tipalti’s Travis Hughson about what labels need in 2026, what artists want when it comes to payments, and how to maintain trust and transparency to keep all parties happy.Some more Tipalti resources for the music business:Automated Royalty Payouts to Nurture ArtistsNinja Tune Enhances Artist Satisfaction and Cuts Payouts Processing Time by 50% With Tipalti Mass PaymentsFast, Secure Global Payments AnywhereRoyalty Rate Explained: How to Determine Your Royalties========This is a Music Ally Co-Labs podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/music-ally-co-labs. Co-Labs content is created by publishing partners in liaison with the Music Ally Editorial Team. We work closely with partners to ensure that it adheres to Music Ally's high expectations of quality, thoughtfulness, and usefulness.

Ep. 175: Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research joins us to talk about labels in 2026. It's jam-packed with great advice for labels of all sizes and ambitions, including:The value shift between labels and streaming platforms in terms of the 'ownership' of the music consumerHow labels should "specialise" - and what that means for the labels who try to do it allHe advocates for labels to 'nurture' artists with long-term artist development. He explains why – and how a label boss might need to justify a three-year slow-burn strategy when they're under so much pressure to deliver nowWhat revenue streams or opportunities might labels be labels ignoring because they're too focused on protecting the streaming status quo?There's also a fairly unexpected chat about Nu-Metal, Limp Bizkit, and UK Garage.Midia report: The future of labels – https://www.midiaresearch.com/reports/the-future-of-labels-shifting-sandsRide - Vapour Trail – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVhNi5cU8mo------👋 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Knowledge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth over £450/year, via our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠corporate and sponsored subscriptions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/subscription-options⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ⓜ️ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Music Ally⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠musically.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/musically⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Ep. 174: What's going to give you or your artist cut-through in 2026? At the start of last year we published one of our most popular podcasts of the year: when we asked Liam James Ward, CEO/co-founder of content strategy studio Something Something to look ahead into 2025’s upcoming marketing trends. Never let it be said that Music Ally Focus likes anything more than pushing against an open door, so when we had the opportunity to get Liam back on the show, we said yes. (It was a timely recording too, as Something Something were recently named Agency of the Year in Music Ally’s 2025 Music Marketing Awards.)Thus in this special episode of Music Ally Focus we’ll look beyond the bland and get clarity on the key changes and surprising developments in digital and social music marketing that emerged last year and what you can do in 2026, whether you’re a big budget high-flyer or a scrappy and ambitious DIY-er. Liam also digs into fan accounts, the atomisation of content, and crafting fun and sticky videos that stretch the idea of authenticity into exciting new places. We’ll talk about clipping, communities and crafting constellations of content, and we’ll talk about how marketers already instinctively know what strategy they should take for their artist and that artist’s audience.Something Something: https://www.somethingsomething.social/Contact Liam: [email protected]⁠ Music Ally Campaigns of the Year: https://musically.com/best-music-marketing-campaigns-of-the-year/

Ep 173: We're refreshing Focus (or should that be re-Focusing?) for our many music marketing listeners – we'll now be publishing regular episodes that spotlights recent excellent music marketing work. We're calling it "Genius Steals", so get ready to be inspired as regular host Joe Sparrow asks the stupid questions to Music Ally's marketing expert Marlen Hüllbrock.She'll explain why a bunch of great campaigns caught her eye recently, including a Lily Allen USB stick that you might get behind, Sleep Token's colouring book, The Kinks' tea, and lots more. Also: is Marlen smug about her Spotify Wrapped Age? (Yes, she is.)It's ideal for anyone who wants to get up to speed quickly and be inspired by* good recent marketing ideas.=====Music Ally's team is constantly on the lookout for the latest and greatest music marketing campaigns. download - for free! - our huge Campaigns of the Year report for 2025 here: https://musically.com/best-music-marketing-campaigns-of-the-yearAnd dig into all our marketers' resources right here: https://musically.com/marketing-insight=======Here's a load of links to all the stuff Marlen mentioned:Lily Allen (https://www.instagram.com/p/DRzjmtIjOGF/?igsh=dGttbWc0bTdpYnRl)• Lily Allen (https://lilyallen.tmstor.es/product/west-end-girl-usb-nrd)• Fred again.. (https://www.reddit.com/r/fredagain/comments/1pdi19n/usb_necklace/)• TOMORA (https://www.instagram.com/tomora)• TOMORA (https://soundcloud.com/tomoraofficial/ring-the-alarm?si=6d087a14f2ca44bf9ef224a0fb000418&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)• Sofi Merone (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRzsZJYDZc1/?igsh=YTR2eGg0MW1zNmkx)• Sofi Merone (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR78m79jdJV/?igsh=dGF4YjkwYzA1eHcy)• SAILORR (https://www.instagram.com/p/DR5k_JMASWs/?igsh=dW4waWV4eWxkc2R1)• The Kinks (https://thekinkstea.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopokPr8qjspz3-4VY96ARYCj5VpGMKLREN4_TeWaPYV2rW7k4Hg)• berlioz (https://krankbrother.seetickets.com/event/berlioz-presents-deep-in-it/finsbury-park/3560930?pre=pre&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email)• JADE (https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/1peg1x8/jade_thats_showbiz_baby_the_encore/)• Sleep Token (https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sleep-token-coloring-book-even-in-arcadia-album-1236130093/)• Eli (https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRLC713Y/)• Eli (https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRLXJBuq/)• Eli (https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRLXNhNQ/)• Gunna (https://www.instagram.com/p/DR2nl-eEZcC/?igsh=MTU4Yzk3M2kwcWp0ag==)• Katseye (https://www.instagram.com/p/DRiQpMvDyS8/?igsh=MW00dHQ4eWE3YXJoNQ%3D%3D)*genius steals, remember

Ep 172: Taking the pulse of music-tech in 2025. We asked Music Ally’s head of insight, Stuart Dredge, to chat to our managing editor Joe Sparrow about the state of music-tech – and they talk in depth about AI doing your admin, the proliferation of tools designed to empower artists, direct-to-fan monetisation tech,  and more!This podcast connects to Music Ally's latest Insight Report on music-tech in 2025 (https://musically.com/category/reports). This year is the third “Year Of AI” in a row, by our reckoning. So how will people in the industry actually use AI – and in mundane ways? How much can be automated and when do humans need to step into the decision-making process? And if you automate away the mundane tasks, where do entrants in the industry start?