The Manager’s Playbook 066: Bryan Johnson - Spotify Royalties, Independent Artists, AI Music & The Future of Streaming

In this episode of The Manager’s Playbook, Mauricio Ruiz sits down with Bryan Johnson, Spotify’s Head of Artist and Industry Partnerships, International, for a rare inside look at how Spotify is shaping the modern music business.

Bryan breaks down Spotify’s 2025 Loud & Clear report, including the $11B paid to rights holders, the growth of independent artists, the rise of the artist middle class, and why more artists are building real careers through streaming than ever before.

They also get into the questions artists and managers actually care about:
Who really gets paid?
How do Spotify royalties work?
Do playlists still matter?
Is algorithmic discovery more important than editorial?
What does AI mean for artists, songwriters, and rights holders?

This conversation covers streaming royalties, Spotify for Artists, Fresh Finds, global music discovery, AI music, artificial streaming, ticketing, merch, catalog value, and why artist control matters more than ever.

For artists, managers, songwriters, and aspiring music executives, this episode is a clear look at where the music economy is headed and what it takes to actually benefit from it.

Simply put, a conversation like this doesn't come cheap.

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Watch the full episode on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Topics Covered

00:00 Streaming Opens Doors
02:04 Spotify Then vs Now
06:45 Piracy to Streaming
08:06 Global Languages Breaking Through
11:43 Loud & Clear Report
14:34 Who Actually Gets Paid
18:22 Stream Share vs Per-Stream Rate
23:08 Catalog Sales and Valuation
33:44 Fresh Finds Breakouts
43:32 The Artist Middle Class
49:13 AI Music, Spam, and Spotify Policies
55:48 Derivatives and Artist Opt-In
01:09:11 Spotify’s Responsibility to Artists
01:19:22 Getting Dropped by a Label
01:26:43 The Future Music Economy
01:27:44 Editorial vs Algorithmic Discovery
01:31:32 How Spotify Pitching Works
01:43:34 Superfans and Final Thoughts

Listen to more episodes of The Manager’s Playbook for conversations on artist management, music business strategy, streaming, labels, publishing, marketing, and the future of the music industry.