For this one-off special episode of On The Record, Poppy Reid sits down with Sam Duboff, Spotify's Global Head of Spotify for Artists, Marketing & Policy, for one of the most transparent conversations ever recorded about how the world's biggest streaming platform actually works.

From artist royalties and streaming payouts to AI-generated music, algorithms, discovery, exports and the future of the music industry, Sam answers many of the questions musicians, managers and fans have been asking for years.

The conversation breaks down how Spotify's royalty system really works, why there is no fixed payment per stream, what actually happens after Spotify pays labels and distributors, and why so many artists misunderstand where their money comes from. Sam also responds to some of the biggest industry debates, including Discovery Mode, user-centric payments, AI-generated music, spam tracks, artist verification, export myths and whether Spotify's algorithm really limits artists' global reach.

Whether you're an artist, songwriter, producer, manager or simply curious about the future of music, this is an essential conversation with one of the people helping shape the industry's next chapter.

Topics discussed:

• How Spotify royalties actually work

• Why there is no fixed pay-per-stream rate

• Discovery Mode explained

• AI music and Spotify's policy

• Verified by Spotify

• User-centric payment model

• Artist royalties and record deals

• Exporting Australian artists globally

• Music industry myths

• The future of streaming and AI