Episode Details

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This week Katherine and Ella from ace UK indie band Picture Parlour talk about the stark economic realities of being a touring artist in the modern music industry. They're joined by David Martin from the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), who explains why his organisation is handing out top-up financial support to help artists like Picture Parlour get out on the road.

(As ever, our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠ get the full interview with extra bonus conversation!)

In this episode:

• Katherine and Ella explain the huge financial pressures of touring – while inflation has soared, artist fees have remained largely unchanged, and yet ticket prices are kept low to maintain demand.

• How Picture Parlour lost approximately £10,000 on a recent support tour, even when trimming their budget by asking fans to help at the venues.

• With this in mind, David explains why The FAC is distributing £125,000 to artists to help get them on the road – and how he hopes to put the money to work effectively and fairly.

  The band also talk about the reality of a major deal, where the initial financial boost depletes rapidly when paying for tour transport, crew salaries, and accommodation.

• They explain how a record deal doesn't provides even a living wage – and that artists often still struggle to pay basic rent while being signed.

• There's lots of positive news too! They all talk passionately about why independent venues remain so important (for example: they met in The Castle in Manchester!) and how they're essential melting pots where people can meet and community can thrive,.

• Plus the band are excited to go on the road again in support of their newest album.

More on the fabulous Picture Parlour: pictureparlour.co.uk - and get yourself tickets to their tour here https://linktr.ee/pictureparlour.

More on the Featured Artist Coalition’s UK Artist Touring fund, which aims to plug shortfalls and de-risk touring for all types of artists: https://thefac.org/ukatfund

You can apply here – but be quick – the deadline for applications is 23:59pm on Friday 20th March 2026: https://forms.gle/SLvWLASSR9o3nodv8

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Email us: ⁠⁠thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠

See you next week!

Steve and Stuart

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