Village Underground. 2025. Three hours, 47 tracks. Doc Scott, Origin Unknown, Calibre, Dillinja, Krust. Full set + timestamps: https://t.co/OVcn83djJ2 #peshay #villageunderground #drumandbass

“We are disappointed that the reforms in Wednesday's budget do not include recording studios in the reduced rates for Retail, Hospitality & Leisure. Studios are cultural and economic hubs. Their exclusion adds further pressure at a time of rising costs.” - UK Music CEO @Tomkiehl

UK Music Chief Executive @Tomkiehl addressed delegates as part of the annual State of the Nation panel at Un-Convention 2025 in Manchester. Find out more here https://t.co/8dET97E4cQ

Seven revenue streams independent musicians control: Email marketing Patreon/Ko-fi/Bandcamp Live streaming Sync + mechanical Teaching income International platforms Crisis-proof backup Full analysis: https://t.co/lJW9ZcQoTf #independentmusicians #musicindustry #ukartists

Crisis management matters: April 2024: Spotify changed rules. Tracks need 1,000 streams in 12 months before royalties. Client lost 40% of Spotify income overnight (playlist curator removed tracks). Patreon kept her stable. Diversification = survival.

International platforms bypass Spotify saturation: Anghami (120M MENA users), Boomplay (95M African users), lower competition. Client got Anghami playlisting → 45,000 streams in 3 months. Discovery impossible on Spotify UK (100K+ weekly releases).

Mechanical royalties: £350+ annually unclaimed at 500K streams if you never registered with MCPS (UK) or MLC (US). Collection societies hold this money for years, then redistribute to whoever’s registered. Not claiming yours? You’re funding other artists.

Bandcamp Friday (first Friday each month) waives revenue share entirely. Client example: £840 generated in one day after averaging £60-80 weekly. Sales spike 300-600% when artists actually remind their audience.

Email marketing beats social media: • Open rates: 39-42% (email) vs 8% (Instagram organic reach) • CTR: 2.5-3.5% (email) vs 0.8-1.2% (social links) A client: 847 pre-saves from 3,200 email subscribers vs 163 from 28,000 Instagram followers.

One £5 Patreon supporter = 1,250+ Spotify streams in revenue value. 100-125 supporters at £5 = £500-625 monthly income you control completely. No algorithm deciding whether your fans see your album announcement.

To earn UK minimum wage from Spotify alone, you need 22,000 streams per day. Every single day. For most independent artists, that’s impossible. Here’s what 30% of our roster built instead: 🧵

Government bans ticket touting to protect fans from rip-off prices This is a powerful step by the UK Government towards restoring trust and fairness by ensuring no ticket can be resold for profit. Ticket touts have long made eye-watering sums from resale, exploiting fans

As @Oasis prepare to wrap up their #Oasislive25 tour this weekend, we asked industry experts, tour insiders and the band’s diehard fans for their verdict on the huge impact the Gallaghers' return has had on the live music industry this year. 🎸 https://t.co/5gnTdX3dF6

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music has re-elected @PeteWishart MP and @alexsobel MP as its co-Chairs at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Westminster. Congratulations to both from all at UK Music!

30 years managing UK indie artists through every tech disruption (DAT tapes, Napster, streaming, now AI): Full analysis: Real income data, strategic frameworks, 2026-27 predictions https://t.co/Lt1sv4RjXU #independentartist #UKMusicians #AIMusic #musicindustry

UK government's AI copyright consultation closed Feb 25, 2025. Results: Spring 2026 (earliest) Legislation: Late 2026 or 2027 Meanwhile, positioning decisions you make in next 3-6 months will define your 2026-2028 income trajectory. Can't afford to wait for clarity.

Real ex: client launched Patreon June 2025 Now earning approx £7,488 annually from 78 supporters (avg £8/month) who explicitly want to support human creativity Total music income INCREASED in 2025 despite losing sync work to AI. Direct fan relationships > platform dependence

Three positioning strategies working now: A) Human-Only: 100% human-created, premium pricing, target audiences who value craft B) AI-Assisted: Use AI for specific tasks, transparent about what's human vs AI, compete on speed + quality C) Flexible: Case-by-case, transitional

The market is splitting. Premium tier: Human artists with distinctive style, strong brand, direct fan relationships. Commodity tier: AI-generated functional music for background use. The middle tier, "good but not distinctive", is collapsing fast.

IQ Artist Management client data through 2025: → Session musicians: 10-20% income declines in budget work → Sync: AI alternatives used as negotiation leverage (we lost one sync to this in Oct) → Producers: 15-20% declines in production-for-hire Premium work? Unaffected.