Music streaming platform, Spotify, has expressed concerns over rising cases of artificial streams on the platform, with a warning that artists caught will lose their earnings.
According to Spotify, artificial streaming, often generated by bots or click farms, has become a major concern in the music streaming industry.
It noted that while some artists knowingly engage with these services, many fall victim unknowingly, thinking they are investing in legitimate promotions.
“To be crystal clear: You can’t buy your way onto a playlist. Any service charging you money to get on a Spotify playlist, including non-editorial ones, is a scam.
“They may claim to help book you Spotify ads to promote your music, but in reality the company took your money and utilized bots in an attempt to inflate your stream count,” Spotify’s Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships, International, Bryan Johnson, said during the company’s latest Spotify for Artists Masterclass.
Artists’ earnings threatened
Johnson stressed that even when the services claim to use legitimate tools such as Spotify Ads, they often deploy bots to inflate stream counts, ultimately harming the artist’s profile and potential earnings.
He added that labels and distributors will be charged per track when significant artificial streaming is detected, costs that could ultimately fall on the artists themselves.
“We know how frustrating it can be if you’re caught up in any of this. That’s why we’re investing heavily in tech and resources to detect artificial streams and enforcing policies quickly to deter bad actors.
“This is something we take seriously at every level, all around the world. And our efforts are working,” Johnson said.
CEO of distribution platform Tunecore, Andreea Gleeson, echoed the urgency:
“It’s very, very important that we protect the ecosystem so that artists with legitimate listeners benefit from their hard work. Our goal is to get more money into the pockets of real artists with real fans.”
Alliance against fraud
Gleeson revealed that fraud detection systems are becoming more collaborative. According to her, a few years ago, fraudsters would reappear under new distributors, but now, the Music Fights Fraud Alliance has been formed, bringing platforms, distributors, and labels together to detect, mitigate, and enforce against fraud.
- She noted that some newer artists are often unaware they’ve been exposed to fraud because they hired a marketing firm they thought would do PR and comms, but instead the firm used a bot farm.
- CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition, David Martin, added that social media has become a common hunting ground for fraudsters.
“Artists are being contacted via DMs offering guaranteed streams or playlist placements. That’s always a red flag. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always do your research,” Martin warned.
What you should know
Nairametrics recently reported that Nigerian artists earned over N58 billion in royalties from Spotify in 2024, more than doubling the figures from 2023 and marking a fivefold increase compared to 2022.
- According to Spotify’s 2024 Loud & Clear report, the number of Nigerian artists earning at least N10 million in royalties from the platform has more than doubled since 2023 and tripled compared to 2022 figures.
- The report also revealed that Nigerian artists were discovered by first-time listeners over one billion times in 2024, demonstrating the increasing reach of the country’s music.
- More than 1,900 Nigerian artists were added to Spotify’s editorial playlists, representing a 33% increase compared to 2023.
