https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Thu, 03 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-artificial-streaming-penalty-fee-explained https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-artificial-streaming-penalty-fee-explained Since April 2024 Spotify has charged labels and distributors a fee per track when it finds flagrant artificial streaming, and the big distributors pass it straight to artists, at about €10 per flagged track per month. Here is how the penalty works, how artists who never bought a bot get caught, and how to vet a promoter before you pay one. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreamingspotifyartificial-streaming