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!

2026-02-04

Download

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 ...

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 2025 alone⁠. But did it pay any money out for them?
Music is now ⁠a third of all the time people spend watching YouTube⁠. But is that good news?
UK venues complained bitterly about proposed changes to business rates tax which would increase ticket prices and force small venues to close: now the government has announced some changes…
Remember when we talked about Bonnie Tyler’s Spotify royalties in a show last year? ⁠Both Bonnie and Spotify have chipped in with a follow-up to that story⁠…
Harry Styles’ "world tour" is ⁠only playing in seven cities⁠. Is this a new model for superstar touring?
Bruno Mars’ latest concert ⁠attracted 12.8 million people⁠! But what's the twist?
⁠No one wanted a global chart for AI-generated music⁠ - but here it is anyway!

And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠⁠, Steve and Stu prop themselves at the bar to chat about:

Steve and Stu reflect on last week's excellent interview with Ricky from Southampton Joiners - and the pressures on venues; and the changes in touring routes.
... and also the dubious reality for young gig-goers: who's putting gigs on for them – and do they even want gigs?
Football’s January transfer window has just closed in most of the big countries, which made us think: what if there was an equivalent for bands...
If you’ve been wondering what Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel and the Pope think about AI music… it’s your lucky week!

===================================

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

See you next week!

Steve and Stuart

======

TPOM online: http://tpom.uk/

Support The Price of Music on Patreon:

⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠

Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacq

Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredge

Follow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpod