Michael M - This Song Costs £2,000

by Peter Cole

published: 6 / 10 / 2020

Label: Michael M
Format: Download

Quirky new single from Scottish musician which is probably the most expensive song you can buy

Review

Scottish musician Michael M has a nice line in funny-but-not-novelty songs. His album ‘Now That's What I Call Disappointment’ contains such indie-punk gems as the slow-burn ‘Tim Peake, If You Love Space So Much Why Don't You Marry It?’ and the Covid-19 anthem ‘#DontDrinkBleach’. On 25 September, with little fanfare, he released ‘This Song Costs £2,000’. Whether by error or design, the song does not currently cost £2,000. But if you want to buy the digital track from Bandcamp, it will set you back a rather steep £1,000. As its author explains, “I wrote a quick song about how much it costs to be a musician and how I can't stop doing it anyway.” As well as being as catchy and noisy a gem as fans will expect, the song also provides some insight into the difficult financial side of being a musician. “£300 for the electric guitar—6 quid to string it or I won’t get very far,” sings the Glasgow-based artist. “…£30 per session for a practice space — fifty hours at a mirror perfecting this face.” Altogether the costs come to just shy of £2,000. ‘This Song Costs £2,000’ is not the most expensive song ever. That honour probably rests with the couple of dozen tracks of the Wu Tang’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ album, the only copy of which was bought by controversial pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli for a reported $2 million. But—with that album currently seized by US authorities as part of Shkreli’s legal troubles — Michael M’s piece is probably the most expensive song you can actually buy at the moment. And it seems to be half price.