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.Want your music everywhere, properly? DistroKid is a straightforward way for independent artists to distribute globally and keep momentum moving. https://distrokid.com/Watch the full episode on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠New episodes drop Sundays @ 10am ETTopics Covered00:00 Streaming Opens Doors02:04 Spotify Then vs Now06:45 Piracy to Streaming08:06 Global Languages Breaking Through11:43 Loud & Clear Report14:34 Who Actually Gets Paid18:22 Stream Share vs Per-Stream Rate23:08 Catalog Sales and Valuation33:44 Fresh Finds Breakouts43:32 The Artist Middle Class49:13 AI Music, Spam, and Spotify Policies55:48 Derivatives and Artist Opt-In01:09:11 Spotify’s Responsibility to Artists01:19:22 Getting Dropped by a Label01:26:43 The Future Music Economy01:27:44 Editorial vs Algorithmic Discovery01:31:32 How Spotify Pitching Works01:43:34 Superfans and Final ThoughtsListen 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.