Stop Playlist Scams

[ASouthworth]

There is a widespread Spotify playlist scam that has been running for at least a year, and i've seen it result in artists getting their music pulled from the platform when they've done nothing wrong. 

Basically the scam is a playlist company will add songs by 2,000 artists per day to their playlist, pumps bots to all the songs on it (maybe even some followers) hoping the artist will see the spike in streams and check it out in Spotify for Artists. The playlist has contact information or a website link on it, and they're hoping someone falls for it and hires them for more fake promo.

The playlist company is adding songs without the artists permission, and sometimes artists get banned even though they never initiated this.

Here are some ideas for how Spotify can fix this problem:

1. Make it impossible to put URL's or email addresses in the playlist descriptions
2. Provide some option for artists to report the playlists and have their songs removed from the playlist
3. Create better detection algorithms that punish the playlist creator and not the artists on the playlists
4. Switch to a user centric payment model that makes bots non-viable
5. Impose limits on the Spotify API that make it costly for bad actors to scale these types of bot attacks

[Mrendon2]

Sounds like a perfect situation for a class action lawsuit! Certainly this affects only the independent little guy. There is no fraud unless intent to deceive for ill gotten gains. This sounds like many independent artists hire the third party promoters without knowing of their illegitimate means of promotion. These independent artists have invested thousands of dollars in the tracks that are unilaterally removed by Spotify without notice to the artist, thereby, creating financial damage to the artist and the artist’s career. Seek out a class action lawyer who will take your case as a contingency case.

[erikstearns]

You're right on. Go look up Top Music Attorney. That's where I've gotten a
lot of information about this situation.

[JoseCorteReal]

Im from Portugal. Here I'm one of Spotify's biggest advocates, as a journalist, music producer, songwriter and radio host. I lived in Sweden in the 80s and I like the idea of ​​Spotify. Until now.

Now I started to get the information, and it happened to me too, that despite not using any external promotion service (bots) after some songs are played more than normal in a short time, Spotify decides, that the owners of the songs are cheating. However, this is an unfounded accusation and one that Spotify cannot prove in the same way that artists cannot prove that they did not cheat.

It's a deaf conversation.

The distribution says that Spotify ordered the songs to be removed and Spotify, (contacted at the user service), states that the distributor was the one who removed the songs because they just complained, after all, both are escaping responsibility and proving any culpability on the part of the artists. Naturally, although none of them could prove that they did not cheat and that they did not use external promotion services (bots), they had already been threatened at the beginning of the year that if they were discovered doing it they would suffer this.

But as a journalist, composer and music producer, I understand the position in which both (Spotify and Distribution) send the artist to, not the most comfortable, since there is no right to a response or a second chance (not being able to prove that are not guilty) as well as both (Spotify and Distribution) do not present any proof that the artist committed a fraud, they can only imagine the number of passages faster than normal, not appearing in playlists supported by Spotify or simply due to a case of luck or an algorithm failure.

I remember that at the time of Covid 19, there was an increase in all of my artists/productions, more than 20 projects, that reached more than 25 thousand listeners per month... Just for one month... Possibly an error in the Algorithm... If it had happened today, Spotify would have removed all my music and all other artists who had had an increase in listeners like that due to a Spotify's bug! You must understand that I don't get so many euros monthly on Spotify and to share that money with the other members of those projects, it a bunch of peanuts... We join for a dinner once a year, and have allwys to add some money... I believe that Spotify has to find another solution so as not to penalize small artists and those with few plays, who, when they reach more than 3,000 streams, end up being banned without a proven reason. Around the world there is a movement of musicians who are against Spotify and who say bad things about the service every day, how can I defend Spotify and say that this strwaming service is one of the best things that have happened to independent artists, producers, composers in a market that had no solution... I don't understand and I can't accept being declared guilty without being able to defend myself. (and this is not just happening to me). The problem is that accepting tha the artist is guilty tan the distribution takes down the music from al other stremaing services wich is unfair and undemocratic. Completely outside of what I learned in Sweden, where fairplay, Honesty and justice live together. It's wrong! I Know that neither Spotify neither the Distribution will do a step back on this issue. They don't accepet that they can be wrong or tha artists aren't guilty.

[OGruber]

So what can we do? We can work on music for years and get an audience and they just remove it without any proof and just loose or our life's work? 

[JoseCorteReal]

Yes... They have the power! Like Meta with Facebook accounts ou Instagram... They close your account because they have not enough security and someone hacked you account... You are allways guilty.

Because you can't give no proofs about beeing innocent. They should have a kind of "Second chance" or "stopping time" opportunity to the artists...

Something that isn't unfair, there mus be a  solution to this.

Because Spotify has bugs too, this is like beeing life doomed without beeing in court with a Judge...

[DanielHeins]

Why must Spotify suck so bad? So that "bad actors" can use it to scam musicians. 

[jzb11]

Are people interested in starting a class action lawsuit over this?

[JoseCorteReal]

Yes, explain please.

[OGruber]

I don't understand, we, the independent artists gave Spotify the name they have now, without all the artists they would be unknown. How can we actually sue them? Is that actually possible? 

[erikstearns]

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me on this and I'm glad you reached out. I'm
pretty much inundated with not only messages, but other things in life, so I
have to be cogent here.

I did some research and the best resource I found was that of Top Music
Attorney, www.topmusicattorney.com <> . Also
check out the YouTube channel for Top Music Attorney in that she gives a lot
of updates regarding Spotify and the subsequent distribution services
scandals like Distro Kid and TuneCore. She's recommended in addition to her
expertise in the music industry and the current scandals in progress, she's
also the spearhead of putting together a class action lawsuit. I highly
recommend subscribing and keeping up with her updates as right now, she's
the best chance at us coming together in numbers and rectifying this
situation.

I hope this helps and thanks again for reaching out.

Sincerely,

Erik.