Phonk: the biggest genre you've (probably) not heard of; Only 20% of the 2025 UK Top 100 were performed by UK artists; What is 'radio plugging'?; and your ashes in an urn that's also a speaker...

About this episode

The episode explores the Phonk genre, the impact of passive music streaming, and listener questions about radio plugging and UK music trends.

Your easy 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 get Phonky with the biggest overlooked genre in the world: so what is Phonk anyway? Also on TPOM this week: How much music streaming is “passive” – where the platform chooses what you listen to? What impact does that have on our listening habits – and just who is controlling what we listen to? A listener question: what is “radio plugging” and how does it work – and how does it affect (or not) what Steve plays on the radio? ( Email us your own question here !) Only 20% of tracks in the 2025 UK top 100 were performed by UK artists : so is music by UK artists being listened to less in its home country? And if so, why? Would you want your ashes stored in an urn that doubles as… a bluetooth speaker? Why are Brazil and Mexico listening to so much UK music? (And how much of it is just Oasis?) Legendary UK grassroots venue the Sheffield Leadmill is finding a new home – and how are they going to raise the money to do it? Plus: cultural catnip for listeners of a certain age – not one but two mentions of Jim…

People in this episode

Hosts: Steve, Stu

Topics covered

• Phonk genre
• music streaming
• radio plugging
• UK music
• cultural commentary
• listener questions

Keywords

• Phonk
• music streaming
• radio plugging
• UK artists
• Sheffield Leadmill
• Carter USM
• Brazil
• Mexico

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Carter USM

Places: Brazil, Mexico, UK, Sheffield Leadmill

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