{"id":240700,"date":"2025-09-30T11:35:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=240700"},"modified":"2025-10-01T16:33:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:33:00","slug":"key-songs-in-the-life-of-alan-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/key-songs-in-the-life-of-alan-price\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Songs In The Life Of… Alan Price"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW’s Key Songs In The Life Of… is a series in which we ask influential music industry figures about the tracks that have defined their life and career so far. This time out Vevo CEO Alan Price picks the songs that have meant the most to him on his journey to date. The Key Songs… series is supported by Sony Music Publishing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Vevo<\/strong> CEO Alan Price<\/strong> says that he took a \u2018loose, fluid and organic\u2019 approach to selecting his Key Songs \u2013 and there\u2019s evidence of that in the music.<\/p>\n

From The Grateful Dead<\/strong> to Sonny Landreth<\/strong>, there are some real jam-merchants in the mix \u2013 artists who play in the moment and go where the music takes them. Perhaps most significantly, there are several live tracks, or at least tracks that were chosen having been most appreciated in a live setting.<\/p>\n

Price<\/strong> says: \u201cAs I went through the process, I kept going back to shows. As a result, these aren\u2019t just the most impactful songs of my life, they are key to my most impactful music experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all artists and tracks that I\u2019m incredibly passionate about, of course, but by no means would this be the result if I very methodically tried to rank my Top 10 songs of all time. That would be a very different list.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found that this effort brought me to songs that tie me to people \u2013 family and friends, places and lasting memories. These are common threads that presented themselves as I went through the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Price has been at Vevo since 2009. Before that he spent nearly two decades within the Sony Music<\/strong> eco system, including stints at both Epic<\/strong> and Columbia<\/strong> \u2013 meaning he worked with a star-studded list of incredible artists.<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t, however, tied his Key Songs<\/strong> too closely to his career. \u201cI didn\u2019t really want any framework or rules, but just to see what flowed. I didn\u2019t discuss it with anyone or ask anyone how they\u2019d go about it. I just thought about it and waited to see what would appear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most simply, he\u2019s approached it as a fan. Something that\u2019s reflected in his answer when asked if he found the task difficult. \u201cNot at all! I don’t even think about it on an easy-to-difficult scale, it\u2019s organic and natural \u2013 I think about this stuff all the time anyway!\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>1) Grateful Dead, One More Saturday Night (1972) <\/strong><\/h6>\n

According to strict definitions, I\u2019m not a Deadhead. I say that because I tend to like studio-Dead rather that live-Dead, and I think that technically eliminates me from the community. Nonetheless, this is where it all started for me.<\/p>\n

I’m the youngest of four children and as is the case with so many music fans, my family was an early source of inspiration and lasting influence on my musical palette. My oldest brother was a drummer, and he had a kit in his bedroom on the third floor. He would put on his headphones and play – loudly. From downstairs I would hear Sweet Home Alabama<\/em> on a regular basis, but mostly it was The Grateful Dead.<\/p>\n

This particular song is what stands out in my memory. Why is it that specific song? I can\u2019t explain it, it\u2019s just organic. To this day some melodies or riffs just stick with me. And this is not just one of my earliest musical memories, it\u2019s one of my earliest memories of any kind \u2013 it\u2019s always stuck with me.<\/p>\n

I have come to have more of an appreciation for the Dead over time. I\u2019m spending a lot of time with the seminal live performance from Barton Hall at Cornell University [from Cornell 5\/8\/77<\/em>], which is understood to be one of their highest-quality live recordings. Maybe I will be part of the community after all.<\/p>\n

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