<p><strong>Your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. </strong></p><p><strong>This week: </strong>two very special guests talk about how to actually make important change happen in the UK’s live industry at grassroots level, and improve the live music fan&#39;s experience: we welcome back <a href="https://members.parliament.uk/member/1400/career" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Lord Kevin Brennan of Canton</a>, Labour member of the House of Lords and a <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/0yxA18E0loFdVR1rqV0Q2s?si=BU-g-M6hQv-Renndv2k9wQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">recording musician</a> himself. </p><p>We also speak to <a href="https://www.shainshapiro.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Shain Shapiro</a>, who amongst other things is author of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Must-Be-Place-Better/dp/1915672058" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>This Must Be The Place: How Music Can Make Your City Better</em></a><em>.</em> (They are both speaking about this on 10th June at the <a href="https://www.musiccitiesevents.com/hull" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Music Cities Convention in Hull</a>, FYI.)</p><p><br></p><p><strong>** As ever, our ⁠⁠</strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/12218634/join">⁠⁠⁠<strong>Patreon Superfans</strong>⁠⁠⁠</a><strong>⁠⁠ get the full interviews – with 50% extra conversation! </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><strong>**</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>We talk about the important stuff that fans care about:</strong> surge ticket pricing, local grassroots venues, music fan associations and more – and it’s all built on the results of the <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmselect/cmcumeds/1628/report.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">UK’s Fan–led Review of Live and Electronic Music</a>, the House of Commons committee special report that Lord Brennan oversaw. He explains what he learned and what can – and should – be done next. </p><p>Then Shain explains why live music must be treated as a &quot;vital public good&quot; – i.e. just like libraries or the NHS – and how people like you can build real political heft, in order to save their struggling local spaces. </p><p><br></p><ul><li><p><strong>Lord Brennan reflects on his past work</strong> with the Music Streaming Inquiry, examining how parliamentary reports can ripple out to create real-world impact for creators, even when they don’t instantly become law.</p></li><li><p><strong>Essential learnings from the live fans&#39; report:</strong> From transport and safety to fair ticketing, Lord Brennan boils down the core pillars that everyday music lovers actually care about.</p></li><li><p><strong>The surge pricing backlash:</strong> The data doesn&#39;t lie – fans are united in their hatred of dynamic ticket surging. We discuss the urgent need for primary market transparency and why standard &quot;free-market&quot; arguments don&#39;t apply to the emotional experience of a gig.</p></li><li><p><strong>Shain Shapiro breaks down how society has prioritised</strong> the passive consumption of music (the noun) while deprioritising community participation (the verb), leading to the isolation of modern music fans.</p></li><li><p><strong>Why you should know your ward councillor</strong>. Shain outlines how forming local &quot;Music Fan Associations&quot; can force local councils to unlock underutilised property and rethink how spaces are used.</p></li><li><p><strong>The 24-Hour Dictators:</strong> Both guests flex their imaginary emergency powers to fix the ecosystem, including slashing VAT on tickets, restructuring property business rates, and mandating grassroots funding.</p></li></ul><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>Stuart and Joe</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 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><br></p><p><br></p>