Inside the Playbook: Mike Biggane on Why the Current Music Industry Is at a Turning Point

Most conversations about streaming focus on artists or platforms.
This one starts where the pressure shows up first: songwriters, publishers, and the economics underneath the music.

In this clip from The Manager’s Playbook, Mike Biggane and I unpack how the streaming era, personalization, and AI quietly reshaped the value chain of the music industry and why the next phase won’t be driven by louder releases, but smarter systems.

We talk about how Spotify’s personalized listening changed discovery and royalties, why traditional publishing models struggled to keep pace, and how AI is being positioned as a connective layer between artists and fans as we head toward 2026. Mike also references Lucian Grainge’s memo on AI as a signal of how seriously the industry is recalibrating.

The conversation moves into TikTok’s role in music distribution, the rise of derivative works (remixes, edits, alternate versions), and what moments like The Weeknd’s “Die For You” resurgence reveal about how songs actually travel today.

This isn’t speculation. It’s a snapshot of systems already in motion.

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

Listen to the full episode here -

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DDs8ss1IMx7YU5OV2QtXa?si=vO7b2aHjRomFvbCIxoEO5Q

Watch the Episodes On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook