Bigger than Ed Sheeran – have you heard of Mrs Green Apple? Why are so many old bands in the album charts? (And so few in the singles chart?) Plus: The Wiggles!

February 25
36 mins

Episode Description

Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. Become a ⁠⁠⁠Superfan of the podcast for free – and enjoy a weekly Superfan Lock-in section!

This week... 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:

  • 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)

  • The Fleetwood Mac chart syndrome: why are there so many old bands in the albums chart?

  • And why are there so few bands in the Top 30 singles?

  • Sam Fender and Olivia Dean are number one – but why has it taken 35 weeks after its release to reach the top spot?

  • And in non-chart news: it’s been dragging on for a while… but now EU regulators have approved Universal’s deal to buy independent music firm Downtown Music. So what happens next? And why are so many people still so angry?

  • Another children’s music superstar for Stu and Steve to discuss: behold, it’s The Wiggles!

  • How to get tickets into the hands of fans, not touts,

  • Streaming full songs inside of TikTok (kind of...).

And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Steve and Stu prop themselves at the bar to discuss this week's bonus material:

  • 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?)

  • Why is Zara Larsson battling a Wikipedia editor about her Wikipedia photo?

  • (And what vital – and incorrect – info did Steve wrestle with Wikipedia over?)

  • 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? 

  • You can use AI powered apps to make your own remixes – but do you even want to?

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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

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