Music Ally Focus

← Music Ally Focus16 apr · 40 min

The Price of Music: Radiohead's secret bunker; the Kanye/Wireless fallout; and how is the world's oldest record shop preparing for Record Store Day 2026? We chat to owner Ashli Todd to find out...

The Price of Music: Radiohead's secret bunker; the Kanye/Wireless fallout; and how is the world's oldest record shop preparing for Record Store Day 2026? We chat to owner Ashli Todd to find out...16 apr40 min

<p><strong>Here&#39;s a taste of our other podcast, The Price Of Music, </strong>presented by Steve Lamacq and Stuart Dredge<strong> </strong>– it&#39;s your easy weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works, </p><p><strong>Like what you hear? Subscribe to TPOM now! </strong><a href="https://MusicAlly.lnk.to/TPOM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>https://MusicAlly.lnk.to/TPOM</strong></a></p><p><strong>This week, </strong>there&#39;s a change to our normal schedule – with a whistlestop tour around the news and then a very special interview with <strong>Ashli Todd</strong>, owner of the legendary <a href="http://spillersrecords.uk/">⁠<strong>Spillers Records</strong>⁠</a>, the world&#39;s <strong>oldest record shop</strong> (founded in 1894, fact fans!)</p><p>Ashli takes time out from filing vinyl to chat to us about <a href="https://recordstoreday.com/RSD2026">⁠<strong>Record Store Day 2026</strong>⁠</a>, which is taking place on Saturday 18th April. She also talks about the logistical hurdles of running a record store today. She also gives an authoritative answer on whether <strong>PJ Harvey</strong> should be filed under &#39;P&#39; or &#39;H&#39;!</p><p><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><em>⁠</em>⁠⁠⁠ ⁠</a></p><p><strong>In this episode...</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>The Ye/Wireless fallout</strong>: what are the financial and contractual &quot;cleaning up exercises&quot; facing Festival Republic after headliner Ye (AKA Kanye West) was denied UK entry – resulting in the entire festival&#39;s cancellation?</p></li><li><p><strong>Radiohead’s Coachella Bunker</strong>: the band&#39;s new &quot;audiovisual installation&quot; is located in a literal bunker beneath the Coachella festival (and if you visit, they put stickers over your phone cameras)</p></li><li><p><strong>A billion-dollar milestone</strong>: Latin American music has topped <strong>$1 billion</strong> in US label revenue for the first time - but which artists have driven this?</p></li></ul><p>Then, <strong>Ashli Todd</strong>, owner of <strong>Spillers Records,</strong> joins the show to chat about <strong>Record Store Day! </strong>(Our extra-special <a href="https://www.patreon.com/12218634/join">⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> get the full, unedited interview... including some hearty debate about Simply Red!)</p><ul><li><p><strong>RSD reality check</strong>: Ashli reveal what it&#39;s like to run a record shop during Record Store Day – including the high-stakes gamble of ordering for the big day.</p></li><li><p>Ashli explains how shops cannot return any unsold Record Store Day stock: so if a shop is left with too many unsold titles, it can negate the entire profit margin for the event. </p></li><li><p><strong>CDs are... back:</strong> Ashli sees teenagers gravitating toward them as a &quot;retro&quot; and affordable alternative to increasingly expensive vinyl.</p></li><li><p>How sales of popular albums can &quot;fall off a cliff&quot; simply because it’s impossible to reorder from the warehouse, due to labels&#39; unwillingness to sit on large quantities of stock.</p></li><li><p>The Jools Holland Effect vs. the TikTok Effect: While the Jools Holland effect on sales has waned, TikTok now has a tangible impact on what (especially younger) customers ask for.</p></li><li><p><strong>We finally settle the argument</strong>: does <strong>PJ Harvey</strong> belong under &#39;P&#39; or &#39;H&#39;? </p></li><li><p>A bonus filing complication: Record Store Day filing rules follow the official list order, which is alphabetical by first name. (We&#39;re still not 100% clear how <em>this</em> effects PJ Harvey, though.)</p></li><li><p>(If you&#39;d like to know more about the history of Spillers, this interview with Ashli is well worth a read: <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wal