Thoughts re botted playlists

[Richy-McLoughlin]

I received a warning email from my distributor Symphonic this morning and wanted to share the email I sent them in reply.  It is more feedback and thoughts on the system as it is now.

Thanks Richy

Good morning,

Thanks for the warning.  Since April I have tried using Imperium Network which has good reviews on Trustpilot and does not offer a number of plays as a guarantee.

Using Submit Hub I've been able to see that a third to a half of their playlists look botted sadly.  In future I am hoping to use Submit Hub, Groover, Soundplate and Daily Playlists.

I am relatively new to all of this and have had a huge amount to learn since I started releasing music in March 2024.  One thing that would be amazingly useful is if the streaming industry, including Spotify, could keep an updated list of legitimate promotion companies.

It's very much like feeling your way in the dark as so many of the non legitimate sites seem very legitimate and for new and upcoming artists this makes things very hard.  Streaming is the biggest source for artists music now.

I also can't understand why Spotify etc do not have these sites shutdown.  They are the ones making big money from this fraud, not the artists.  It does feel a little like victim blaming.  I do not worry too much as I am a 50 year old man doing this largely for fun but for the youngsters setting out it is hugely important.

I will endeavour to avoid botted playlists in the future but so wish there was a little more useful guidance on who is legitimate and who isn't.

Thanks so much

Richy