We are the music makers 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 Sat, 24 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/playlist-scams-and-fake-streams Playlist scams and fake streams: what Spotify and distributors count as artificial, and what it costs you https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/playlist-scams-and-fake-streams Paying a promoter for guaranteed streams or playlist spots is against Spotify's terms, and the penalties land on the artist: lost royalties, removed tracks and a per-track fee your distributor passes on. Here is how Spotify defines artificial streaming, what TuneCore, CD Baby and DistroKid do when a track is flagged, how to spot a scam, and what to do if you get a notice. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers streaming-fraudspotifydistributorsroyaltiesmarketing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-1000-stream-rule-ai-shield Spotify's 1,000-stream rule is now its AI shield, and small human artists are collateral https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-1000-stream-rule-ai-shield Spotify now calls its 1,000-stream royalty threshold a "first line of defense" against AI-generated tracks, which it says are 10 times more likely to fall below it. The same rule decides whether a new human artist earns anything, and Spotify still keeps one of its two tests secret. Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryspotifyroyaltiesai-musicstreaming-fraud https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/deezer-ai-toggle-fraud-problem Deezer's AI kill switch is a search filter. Its own numbers say the bigger problem is fraud https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/deezer-ai-toggle-fraud-problem Deezer will let listeners hide fully AI-generated music from search before the end of 2026. Its own figures matter more than the toggle. Deezer receives nearly 90,000 fully AI tracks a day, yet they draw only 1-3% of streams, and up to 85% of those streams in 2025 were fraudulent. For human artists, the fix that counts is in the payout system, not the search bar. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aideezerstreamingstreaming-fraudai-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/michael-smith-sentence-copyright-office-fraud-inquiry Michael Smith gets 18 months, and the Copyright Office finally asks how streaming fraud works https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/michael-smith-sentence-copyright-office-fraud-inquiry Michael Smith, who used AI-generated songs and bot accounts to drain streaming royalty pools, was sentenced to 18 months and ordered to forfeit about 8.09 million dollars. The next day the US Copyright Office published a public inquiry into streaming fraud, with comments due 23 Nov 2026. For artists it is the first official place to put on record what fraud costs them. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreaming-fraudai-musiccopyright-officeroyalties https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/africa-streaming-growth-outpaces-royalty-collection Africa's streaming is growing faster than its royalty collection https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/africa-streaming-growth-outpaces-royalty-collection Sub-Saharan Africa's recorded music revenues grew 15.2% in 2025 to $120 million, and digital income grew faster still. But South Africa takes 78.1% of that, collecting societies across the continent took in only €90 million in 2024, and nobody publishes fraud rates for African markets. For African artists the growth is real; the plumbing that turns plays into payments is not keeping up. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryroyaltiesstreamingstreaming-fraudafricanigeriasouth-africaifpicisacartist-rights https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/how-much-music-is-ai-qobuz-siqa-numbers How much music is actually AI? Qobuz and SIQA's numbers, read carefully https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/how-much-music-is-ai-qobuz-siqa-numbers Qobuz says only 0.38% of its streams come from AI-identified tracks, and it treats 60% of those streams as fraud. A self-selected sample of AI creators charted by SIQA points the other way, towards hybrid human-plus-AI work. Supply is huge, real listening is small, and policy written for "fully AI slop" misses most of the people actually using these tools. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiai-musicqobuzstreaming-frauddata https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/landr-fake-streams-down-95-percent-distributor-screening LANDR says Spotify-flagged fake streams fell 95% as distributors become the front line on fraud https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/landr-fake-streams-down-95-percent-distributor-screening LANDR says artificial streams flagged by Spotify across its catalogue fell 95% between Q1 2025 and Q2 2026, and it is now screening releases before they reach streaming services. The figure is company-reported with no base disclosed, and it says nothing about honest artists caught by the same filters. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreaming-frauddistributorsspotify