<p><strong>Your 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></p><p><strong>This week... </strong>Steve and Stu dig into the charts – and take a look at a load of data that’s been released about singles, albums and streams:</p><ul><li><p>Do you know Japanese rock band Mrs Green Apple? They were the 13th biggest artist in the world last year. (Bigger than Eminem, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber)</p></li><li><p>The Fleetwood Mac chart syndrome: why are there so many old bands in the albums chart?</p></li><li><p>And why are there so few bands in the Top 30 singles?</p></li><li><p>Sam Fender and Olivia Dean are number one – but why has it taken 35 weeks after its release to reach the top spot?</p></li><li><p>And in non-chart news: it’s been dragging on for a while… but now EU regulators have <a href="https://musically.com/2026/02/16/ec-approves-umgs-downtown-deal-so-what-happens-next/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">approved Universal’s deal to buy independent music firm Downtown Music</a>. So what happens next? And why are so many people still so angry?</p></li><li><p>Another children’s music superstar for Stu and Steve to discuss: behold, it’s <a href="https://musically.com/2026/02/18/universal-music-groups-latest-signing-is-the-wiggles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Wiggles</a>!</p></li><li><p>How to get tickets into the hands of fans, not touts,</p></li><li><p>Streaming full songs inside of TikTok (kind of...).</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 to discuss this week&#39;s bonus material:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Gold discs: how much are they worth - and why does Steve have more of them than he knows what to do with? (and who did he give his Stone Roses gold disc to?)</p></li><li><p>Why is Zara Larsson battling a Wikipedia editor about her Wikipedia photo?</p></li><li><p>(And what vital – and incorrect – info did Steve wrestle with Wikipedia over?)</p></li><li><p>The live music landscape is changing fast: artists are now playing sold-out multi-night residencies at big venues – so is there growing appetite for arena gigs? </p></li><li><p>You can use AI powered apps to make your own remixes – but do you even want to?</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>