<p><strong>Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. </strong>Become a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/12218634/join">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠<strong>Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy a weekly Superfan Lock-in section!</strong>⁠</a><strong></strong></p><p><strong>This week </strong>Katherine and Ella from ace UK indie band <strong>Picture Parlour</strong> talk about the stark economic realities of being a touring artist in the modern music industry. They&#39;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.</p><p>(<strong>As ever, our </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/12218634/join" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠<strong>Patreon Superfans</strong>⁠⁠</a><strong> get the full interview with extra bonus conversation!)</strong></p><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Katherine and Ella explain the huge financial pressures of touring – while inflation has soared, artist fees have remained largely unchanged, and yet ticket prices are kept low to maintain demand.</p></li><li><p>How Picture Parlour lost approximately £10,000 on a recent support tour, even when trimming their budget by asking fans to help at the venues.</p></li><li><p>With this in mind, David explains why The FAC is distributing £125,000 to artists to help get them on the road – and how he hopes to put the money to work effectively and fairly.</p><p>The band also talk about the reality of a major deal, where the initial financial boost depletes rapidly when paying for tour transport, crew salaries, and accommodation.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>They explain how a record deal doesn&#39;t provides even a living wage – and that artists often still struggle to pay basic rent while being signed.</p></li><li><p>There&#39;s lots of positive news too! They all talk passionately about why independent venues remain so important (for example: they met in The Castle in Manchester!) and how they&#39;re essential melting pots where people can meet and community can thrive,.</p></li><li><p>Plus the band are excited to go on the road again in support of their newest album.</p></li></ul><p><strong>More on the fabulous Picture Parlour</strong>: <a href="https://pictureparlour.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pictureparlour.co.uk</a> - and get yourself tickets to their tour here <a href="https://linktr.ee/pictureparlour" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://linktr.ee/pictureparlour</a>. </p><p><strong>More on the Featured Artist Coalition’s UK Artist Touring fund</strong>, which aims to plug shortfalls and de-risk touring for all types of artists: <a href="https://thefac.org/ukatfund" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://thefac.org/ukatfund</a></p><p>You can apply here – but be quick – the deadline for applications is 23:59pm on Friday 20th March 2026: <a href="https://forms.gle/SLvWLASSR9o3nodv8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://forms.gle/SLvWLASSR9o3nodv8</a> </p><p>===================================</p><p><strong>As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular</strong> – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!</p><p>Email us: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠</a><a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><strong>[email protected]</strong></a><a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠</a></p><p>See you next week!</p><p>Steve and Stuart</p><p>======</p><p>TPOM online: <a href="http://tpom.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">http://tpom.uk/</a></p><p>Support The Price of Music on Patreon:</p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠</a><a href="https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠</a></p><p>Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacq</p><p>Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredge</p><p>Follow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpod</p><p>For sponsorship opportunities, please email - <a href="mailto:⁠⁠[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠[email protected]</a></p><p>===================================</p><p><strong>As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular</strong> – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!</p><p>Email us: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠<strong>[email protected]</strong>⁠⁠</a></p><p>See you next week!</p><p>Steve and Stuart</p><p>======</p><p>TPOM online: <a href="http://tpom.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">http://tpom.uk/</a></p><p>Support The Price of Music on Patreon:</p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠</a><a href="https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠</a></p><p>Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacq</p><p>Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredge</p><p>Follow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpod</p><p>For sponsorship opportunities, please email - <a href="mailto:⁠⁠[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠[email protected]</a></p>