Massive Attack pull music from Spotify in protest; Ticketmaster sued by US government; Lizzo thinks that music videos are dead; More album-filing dilemmas; & people are listening to "My Humps" again?

Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. In this week’s multi-faceted episode of The Price of Music our intrepid duo get to grips with...Stu’s Big Number is One Hundred Billion Dollars… but who has paid it to whom and should that number actually be bigger?Ticketmaster is being sued by the US government for ‘illegal ticket resale tactics’ and deceiving artists and fans - but what will happen now?Why have Massive Attack also pulled their music from Spotify everywhere? (and how does it relate to AI drone weapons?)And why have hundreds of artists pulled their music from streaming platforms in Israel?The Great Album Filing Debate: If Ben Folds is filed under "F" is Ben Folds Five filed under "B"? What about Prince when he was a symbol?More AI-artists are finding success – including Steve’s nightmare: an AI-generated Country music album. Artist Lizzo thinks that music videos are dead and that authentic self-videos are key; meanwhile, major research says that "going viral" on social media may not help artists build their fanbases after all. So who is right??Stu once again gets excited by Taylor Swift (and this time it’s a cinema-based launch party)Why are people suddenly listening to "My Humps" again?And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our Patreon Superfans, Steve and Stuart prop themselves at the bar to chat about:Which instrument did Steve (reluctantly) learn at school? (And how did he get tricked into learning it again just after he'd given it up?)Which nationality of people travels abroad the most to visit music events?How does learning an instrument make you a better doctor?As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!Email us: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠See you next week!Steve and Stuart======Support The Price of Music on Patreon:⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠Follow Steve on X - @steve_lamacqFollow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship, email - ⁠⁠[email protected]