<p><strong>Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. </strong><em>Become a </em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/12218634/join">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠<em>⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</em><em><strong>Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy the exclusive weekly Lock-in bonus section!</strong></em></a></p><p><strong>This week... Steve is back from the Great Escape music showcase festival and joins Stuart to discuss:</strong> </p><ul><li><p>How many songs have Steve and Stu listened to on Spotify since 2008, according to <a href="https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-05-12/spotify-20-personal-music-retrospective/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">its latest nostalgia-baiting feature</a>?</p></li><li><p>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.</p></li><li><p>Last week we were speculating about whether the UK’s planned crackdown on ticket-touting would go ahead. And the answer is… <a href="https://musically.com/2026/05/14/uk-ticket-touting-ban-will-only-be-draft-legislation-for-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">no (but also yes</a>)…</p></li><li><p>British labels body the BPI <a href="https://musically.com/2026/05/14/how-should-ai-licensing-work-for-music-the-bpi-has-some-ideas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">has some advice for the UK government</a> about how to handle AI-music licensing. But will it listen?</p></li><li><p>Those cartoon KPop Demon Hunters are <a href="https://musically.com/2026/05/14/kpop-demon-hunters-is-launching-a-global-world-tour-with-aeg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">going on a global tour</a>… we just don’t know when, where, who, or how yet…</p></li><li><p>The full lineup for the World Cup final half-time show has been announced. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vijhodcfpx0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Madonna! Shakira! BTS! And… The Muppets?</a></p></li><li><p>You may not have heard but Steve has announced that he&#39;s reluctantly leaving the podcast... he explains why (it&#39;s not because him and Stu have had a huge diva-ish artistic differences fall-out... or is it? (No, it&#39;s not.))</p></li></ul><p><strong>And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/12218634/join" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠<strong>Patreon Superfans</strong>⁠⁠</a><strong>, Steve and Stu prop themselves at the bar – and Steve&#39;s definitely getting the first round in this time – as they discuss this week&#39;s bonus material:</strong> </p><ul><li><p>More on Eurovision; and the reluctance of TV to make music-oriented shows</p></li><li><p>Steve reports more on what he saw and heard at The Great Escape in Brighton – and the challenge of getting good conflicting conversations on stage at conferences</p></li><li><p>Half-time live performances at football matches: do the artists get paid a fortune (or not at all?)</p></li></ul><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>