https://news.distrokid.com/artificial-streaming-b495f57c8486 DistroKid News Sign in DistroKid News The proliferation of disingenuous music marketing & playlisting services Philip Kaplan Philip Kaplan Follow Jan 3 * 2 min read Image for post Image for post Recently, Spotify removed music from their service due to suspected "artificial streams." These takedowns were distributor-agnostic and affected music from all distributors (not just DistroKid). And though DistroKid wasn't involved in the takedowns, we exist to help artists. So I figured a "behind-the-scenes" look at how artificial streaming most commonly happens can shed light, and help artists avoid these situations in the future. Here's a common situation: 1. A playlister, marketing service, publicist, advertising agency, manager, etc., tells an artist "for $300, we'll help you get more streams." These services often look legitimate, with seemingly good reputations. 2. The artist sends money to aforementioned service. 3. The service (or playlist) then employs bots (fake listeners) to boost the number of streams to the track or playlist. 4. The artist thinks "wow it worked!" and sends more money. 5. Rinse & repeat. Unfortunately, this type of thing is becoming more popular, and has ensnared many smart, talented, and well-meaning artists who had no idea these marketing services were up to no-good. Every month, Spotify & other streaming services detect fraudulent marketing services and playlists, remove associated tracks, and email a list of affected tracks to distributors (so your distributor can notify you). If you got an email notice, it's possible you (or someone on your team, or a friend, or fan) used one of these fake marketing services. It's also likely you didn't know that the marketing service (or playlist) was generating fraudulent streams. Which is a super bummer situation (for you and for your distributor). DistroKid fights for artists, and we think if it was an honest mistake, Spotify should give artists another chance. We're working on an industry-first solution to help artists dispute artificial streaming claims and takedowns from streaming services. Nothing like this exists currently, with any distributor -- and DistroKid is excited to be the first distributor to offer it, for free, to artists. More details on that coming soon. If your music was already removed by Spotify for suspected artificial streams, and you believe Spotify removed it in error, please fill out this form. DistroKid will submit a counter-notification to Spotify on your behalf. I hope this is helpful. Thank you for reading. DistroKid News DistroKid News Follow 163 4 163 claps 163 claps 4 responses Philip Kaplan Written by Philip Kaplan Follow Founder of @DistroKid. Also founded @Fandalism, @TinyLetter, F-dcompany, AdBrite and more. Heavy metal drummer. Follow me on Twitter @pud Follow DistroKid News DistroKid News Follow DistroKid News Follow Philip Kaplan Written by Philip Kaplan Follow Founder of @DistroKid. Also founded @Fandalism, @TinyLetter, F-dcompany, AdBrite and more. Heavy metal drummer. Follow me on Twitter @pud DistroKid News DistroKid News Follow DistroKid News More From Medium My Husband's Mistress Canceled the Food Order for My Daughter's Sixth Birthday Party Jessica Lynn in The Happy Spot [1] [1] How I Lost 65 Pounds In 18 Months Without Any Fad Diets or Gimmicks Mark Suster in Both Sides of the Table [1] [1] Life of a Programmer in Simple Jokes That Will Make You Laugh Josef Cruz in JavaScript In Plain English [0] [0] Why the Next Financial Collapse Is the Cure, Not a Crisis Concoda in Concoda [1] [1] 29 Ridiculously Tiny Habits That Can Completely Change Your Life Sinem Gunel in The Ascent [1] [1] Trump's Final Effort to Overturn the Election Caren White in Politically Speaking [0] [0] The Reason Trump Wants $2,000 Relief Checks David Leibowitz in Dialogue & Discourse [1] [1] 5 Beloved Historical Figures Who Were Rabid Racists Stephanie Leguichard in An Injustice! [1] [1] Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you'll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore Share your thinking. If you have a story to tell, knowledge to share, or a perspective to offer -- welcome home. It's easy and free to post your thinking on any topic. Write on Medium About Help Legal Get the Medium app A button that says 'Download on the App Store', and if clicked it will lead you to the iOS App store A button that says 'Get it on, Google Play', and if clicked it will lead you to the Google Play store