As your trusted partner, we wanted to take a moment to warn you about some deceptive advertisements we’ve recently seen for illegitimate music promotion services.
Third parties that promise playlist placements or a specific number of streams in exchange for compensation are likely using illegitimate practices without your knowledge. These services can threaten your hard work, resulting in the potential withholding of streams or royalties, or even complete removal of your catalog from streaming services.
Our streaming partners work diligently to ensure streams are legitimate, meaning they reflect genuine user listening intent. If a service finds that you (or a third party hired by you or on your behalf) have boosted play counts through any automated, deceptive, fraudulent, or other invalid means (digital bots, “click farms,” payment for placement on playlists, etc.), the service may permanently remove your entire catalog.
Spotify has recently launched a new tool to support artists in addressing this issue. If your music has been added to a playlist that you suspect is generating artificial streams without your consent, Spotify now provides a playlist reporting form. This form empowers you to take action, prompting Spotify’s team to investigate suspicious playlists and take appropriate measures if necessary. You can access the form here: Report suspicious playlists.
If you’re in the market for a music promotion service, make sure to do your research before you hire them.
Label Engine reserves the right to hold any money on a release that is flagged for artificial streaming.
Please note that any artificial streaming penalties charged by Spotify in no way negatively impact artists who did not release the applicable violating tracks. Beyond this, we are committed to ensuring non-violating artists are not impacted by artificial streaming penalties in any way.
For more information, please visit Spotify’s guide on artificial streaming. Additionally, check out their advice on avoiding questionable third-party practices, which provides important guidelines on what to watch out for.