My song got botted without my consent and now I have a strike

[Renegade226]

My song was added to a botted playlist without my consent and the streams spiked into several thousands for a few days. I immediately contacted Spotify to report this and the advisor in chat said "everything seems ok, and there's nothing we can do, we cannot remove private playlists from our service"...then 3 months later Spotify issues a strike against my account for fake streams from that same song I tried to report.

Does anyone else have experience with this? And did they get the wrongful strike removed?

[ChironsDream]

I find myself wondering if we should gather and get representation.

[MdemoXX]

Dear Spotify Team and Community,

As a devoted independent artist, I'm facing the harsh reality of my music being unfairly removed from Spotify. This isn't just about losing songs; it's about losing parts of my soul and voice that I've invested deeply in, beyond mere hobbies to a profound love for art and literature. At 51, working full-time with alternative income sources, I'm not here chasing fame or financial gain. The accusation of using fake bots is both baseless and bewildering, affecting not just me but many in our creative sphere. Why should artists like us pay the price for issues beyond our control?

I urge Distrokid and  Spotify for clarity, fairness, and a resolution that respects our passion and commitment to music. It's time for transparency and support, not penalties for unfounded reasons.

Thank you for addressing this critical issue.

[MrHempy]

I am a new artist and have heard about all this and it stinks to be worried that the traction I’m getting can be wiped out by some bad actors. It’s pretty clear to me what’s going on here. Playlists like WAVR.AI are adding small artists to their bottled playlists to get their attention to buy more streams. The fact that artists are being punished is repugnant. Spotify could easily wipe all those playlists away and just ban or keep on top of removing anything with “WAVR.AI”. They can and will just create another domain and do it again, so the correct approach is to do what I’ve suggested along with just removing any playlists with bot traffic and the bot streams for songs which prob poses a major issue because I bet major labels have a ton as well and they have legal resources and they would have to be proven. They’re punishing the little guy for something they either can’t or don’t want to control. It’s damaging to the art. I hate having anxiety over this and wish I never knew. 

[Misha1997]

I’m going through the same thing with Soundcloud and they refused to give me access to my Artist Account and I’m devastated as it cost me $120 for the years payment and I was not even using their platform for a week. They re not getting back to me either so I’m feeling very discouraged and ripped off… 

[EmpathicMusic]

For real though, why isn't there any solution by now.
I was also added, I contacted Spotify for Artist Support, they removed it.
Now after 2 weeks I got added in again.

I DO NOT WANT BOTTED STREAMS

It is incredibly unfair that some of here even got strikes for it, what the blopidibap?

Isn't there any Moderator or just someone with a high position to tell us this is worked on?

Like we're just trying to do music, I don't want such a scam service to even show up on my Spotify page.

I tell you if I ever get a strike, I'll do anything to put this to an end.
Trust me, I will.

[SillyLilac]

Dear Spotify Team,

I am writing to express my concern regarding the increasing use of bot streams and farms by some artists or their fans. This practice not only undermines the integrity of the platform but also diminishes the genuine enjoyment of music and has become a trend focused on achieving records rather than appreciating true artistry.

I kindly request that Spotify implement stricter measures to monitor and prevent such activities, ensuring a fair and authentic environment for all artists.

[lukewood]

Yes, I just had the same thing happen to me this week. I was added to a botted playlist twice; both only for around 24 hours. First, it was Wavr.ai, the second Repost.ng. I contacted Spotify for Artists to cover myself. I suspect the scammers scraped Distrokid's Wheel of Playlist. 

I received an email from Distrokid telling me my song was being removed. Spotify auto-closes the chat; Distrokid does not respond. I have emailed Daniel Ek from Spotify and Philip Kaplan from Distrokid. I don't suppose they will respond. I suspect it is an organised scam. 

I am due to review my subscription with Distrokid next month. I will use this time to move my songs to CD Baby. 

[partyrats]

one of my tracks got added to a botted playlist. haven't gotten a strike yet but i expect one soon, because the track keeps getting removed and re-added to the playlist; my stats page looks super suspicious now

i use RouteNote (not DistroKid like most people here). wouldn't the distribution service be irrelevant? the whole thing is just Spotify's responsibility

[lukewood]

You make a good point and I am sure it happens to other distributors. However in my case, Spotify informed me that Distrokid had taken the song down, so I should contact them. Also after research, I discovered that Distrokid's Wheel of Playlist is notorious for attracting bots. Distrokid finally responded with a standard "you have been a naughty boy" email, completely ignoring that fact that I reported being added to these playlists against my consent to Spotify. I do wonder what happens to the money earned by genuine streams. 

[anna-silvers]

After researching, I found that Spotify allegedly  also part owns Distrokid, so it’s even more confusing when Distrokid tells you to contact Spotify and Spotify tells you to contact Distrokid. I am currently in the process of leaving Distrokid due to this and searching for alternative streaming platforms. I also reported the issue to citizens advice but for them to investigate properly they need more people to flag the issue. 

[lukewood]

If you need my details for Citizens Advice, just let me know. I am guessing you are from the UK. I am British although I live overseas. I am also changing from Distrokid. 

[ChironsDream]

I am disheartened by everything I experienced. I had some songs up to over 30K streams and earned NOTHING.

Watch this, he was hit hard. Lost it all And explains it very well.

https://youtu.be/kVY7-Ti77UQ?si=jUut5DMXEOwj5mvU

[xjody]

Same thing just happened to one of my songs that came out 8 months ago. Was added to a playlist called Ploppy.li which gave it 1200 ish extra plays in a 24 hour period, then I got an email from distrokid saying it had been removed from spotify for artificial streams. Spotify closes the chat, Distrokid linked me to their FAQ then stopped replying. So frustrating. I spend hundreds of hours on every song I make only to have a 3rd party be able to remove it from the biggest streaming platform and have no way to come back from that.

[xjody]

The other day I got an email warning from my distributor Distrokid that my song had been removed from Spotify for artificial streams. I have NEVER paid or applied to any of these playlists or hired any service or done anything like that ever! 

My song ' saviour self' that got flagged got added to a bot playlist called LA pop tunes by poppy.li recently and it got 1200 ISH plays in 24 hours. I did NOT pay them or request to be added to that playlist or anything at all! The song came out last August, I wasn't even marketing it at the moment.

It is insane that a 3rd party can add it to an illegitimate playlist and get it taken down like this without me paying them or asking them to add it in the first place.

I contacted distrokid, who basically just sent back AI generated FAQ responses and Spotify put me through to someone after their AI FAQ section but that person just copied and pasted their FAQ section again and said that's all they can do.

I do all my own pr, management, everything - small artist, no marketing budget, DEFINITELY no "pay for fake streams" budget but that means all emails are sent personally.

I'm absolutely livid that this could happen to my music with no possible way to block it from happening. I put hundreds of hours into every song I release and do everything myself from writing and performing to designing the artwork, video editing, admin and management. I'm also worried it could impact my account in the future.

Spotify please help get this sorted - it's completely ruining your platform if third parties can get artist's songs removed by doing something without their consent!

[OHUMANS]

I was given a strike through Distokid for being playlist. We never paid for bots or streams. I got in contact with spotiftys support and they said they never saw any issues on their side and that its a distributor problem. Looking into this further and will keep you updated if I remember..

[lukewood]

That's very interesting. I will get back in touch with Spotify to see if there is a bad record. If it is just Distrokid, it is easy to just change distributor. Thanks. 

[ariwilde]

Hello,

May I know if you finally changed distributer and which one you chose? I need to change mine too

[ariwilde]

I need to change from DistroKid, too. Which distributor did you choose?

[ariwilde]

I would like to find an alternative streaming platform, did you already decide which one you'll be using?

[lukewood]

I am in the process of changing to CDBaby. I have tested with one song and it seemed to go smooth. They have a promo of USD4.99 per track.