Music Ally Focus podcast

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...

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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/TPOM

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 of running a record store today. She also gives an authoritative answer on whether PJ Harvey should be filed under 'P' or 'H'!

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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)⁠

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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

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