Playlist scams and fake streams: what Spotify and distributors count as artificial, and what it costs you

A message lands in your inbox: "Guaranteed 10,000 streams and placement on playlists with real followers." It sounds like marketing. On Spotify it is the fastest way to lose money on a release. This guide covers what Spotify counts as artificial streaming, what happens to a track that gets flagged, how distributors pass the penalty on to you, and how to spot a scam before you pay for one.

Everything here is as we read the official pages on 24 Oct 2026. Policies change, so check the linked sources before you act. For the news story on the fee itself, see our earlier explainer on Spotify's artificial streaming penalty.

What counts as an artificial stream?

Spotify's artificial streaming hub defines it as "a stream that doesn't reflect genuine user listening intent". That covers the obvious things, like bots and scripts. It also covers the things artists do to themselves: Spotify asks artists to discourage fans from looping tracks or using extra Premium accounts to inflate plays.

The part most independent artists miss is the promoter. Spotify tells artists to be wary of anyone promising streams, followers or playlist placements for money, and says plainly: "They're scams and should be avoided." Its support page on third-party services says any service that claims to offer guaranteed playlist placement in exchange for money violates Spotify's terms. The hub adds that services charging just to be "considered" for playlists also break the terms.

Distributors say the same thing from the other end. TuneCore says streaming fraud is typically the result of hiring a promotion or playlisting company that guarantees streams, follows or placement.

What happens when a track is flagged?

The consequences stack up, and most of them land on the artist rather than the promoter who sold the streams.

The streams are worth nothing. Spotify says detected artificial streams earn no royalties, do not count toward public stream numbers or charts, and do not influence recommendations.

The track can lose its playlists or disappear. Spotify says tracks may be removed from playlists and, in severe cases, from Spotify entirely.

There is a fee. Since 1 April 2024, Spotify charges labels and distributors per track for "flagrant artificial streaming". Its support page says this applies only to very high rates of artificial streaming per track, and Spotify's own pages do not state an amount. Distributors do:

Because the fee is charged per track per month, a track that stays in the fraud report for several months is charged each time. On a small release that can easily exceed what the track earns.

Spotify's hub also says distributors may respond with a warning, account suspension or removal of your music. That is the real risk: losing your distribution account is far worse than any single fee.

Is it fraud if I did not know?

Intent is not what the systems measure. DistroKid's notice page says it is likely you, or someone you work with, used a marketing service or was added to one of these playlists, and that it is also likely you did not know the service was generating fraudulent streams. CD Baby says a penalty "does not always mean intentional misconduct". Either way, the fee and the takedown still apply.

The extreme end is criminal. In the case we covered earlier, Michael Smith was sentenced to 18 months for using bot accounts and AI-generated songs to drain royalty pools. Paying a dodgy promoter is not that, but the money comes from the same place. Spotify says artificial streams "dilute the royalty pool, shifting revenue from legitimate artists to bad actors", and TuneCore says this lowers the value of each stream for everyone.

How to spot a playlist scam

Use Spotify's own warning signs, then add some common sense.

• A guarantee. Any promise of a number of streams, followers or placements in exchange for money breaks Spotify's terms.
• A fee to be "considered". Spotify names this specifically as against its terms.
• Vague methods. Spotify advises asking a marketing company how it promotes music and checking reviews from other artists who used it. If they will not tell you, do not hire them.
• Odd data after a campaign. Spotify lists these signs in your stats: a sudden spike in streams followed by a drop-off, spikes from places your music has never been played, most streams coming from unclear sources such as "Other", and short bursts of follower growth.

Remember that pitching to Spotify's own editors costs nothing. Our guide to Spotify for Artists pitching covers how that works and what a pitch can and cannot do.

What to do if you get a notice

1. Stop the campaign. Cancel any running promotion and ask the promoter to pull your track from its playlists.
2. Tell your distributor. Spotify says to alert your label or distributor about abnormal activity and share details of any services you hired.
3. Report the playlists. Spotify runs a playlist reporter for suspicious playlists, including ones you were added to without your knowledge.
4. Make your case. If your streams were genuine, Spotify says you can share how you promoted the music with your distributor or label, who can work with Spotify to review it.
5. Know the re-upload rules. DistroKid says that if your music was taken down and you were not using promotional services, you can re-upload with the same ISRC (the recording's code) to get a fresh Spotify URI. TuneCore says tracks with high percentages of fraudulent streams are removed from all stores and cannot be re-uploaded, so check your own distributor's policy.

What we think

The current system punishes the wrong person. The promoter who sold the streams keeps the money; the artist pays the fee, loses the royalties and risks the distribution account. Spotify does not publish its thresholds or the fee on its own pages, the distributors we read describe no formal appeal, and the artist usually learns about a problem from a negative line on a statement.

Three things would help. Spotify should publish the fee and what "flagrant" means, so artists can see the line before they cross it. Distributors should collect promoter names from these notices (DistroKid already has a feedback form) and publish the repeat offenders. And artists should treat any paid promotion that talks about streams rather than listeners as a red flag, full stop.

The US Copyright Office is now asking how streaming fraud works and what should change, with initial comments due 23 Nov 2026. If you have been fined for a promoter's bots, that is a good place to say so on the record.

FAQ

Can I buy ads to promote my music? Spotify's warnings target paid streams, followers and playlist placement. Promotion that brings real listeners to your music is not what it calls artificial; ask any service exactly how it finds them.

Will looping my own song get me flagged? Spotify asks artists to discourage fans from looping tracks or using extra Premium accounts to inflate streams. Don't organise it.

How much is the fee? Spotify does not state an amount on its pages. TuneCore describes €10 per track per month, and CD Baby about $10 to $11.

Can my distributor reverse it? CD Baby says it cannot reverse Spotify's or Apple's determinations. Spotify's route is to share your promotion details with your distributor so they can ask Spotify to review.