Controversial, ethical or a great strategy?
Since the playlists started to reflect a potential value, they became indispensable in the promotion strategies, in addition, the fact that the music sounds in other countries rooted in the artist the idea of positioning himself in the stream, using the following logic ”the more followers, the more listeners. More listeners, more income.”
The few spaces available compared to the thousands and thousands of premieres that are released every week, meaning that the chances of entering an editorial playlist are low which has brought many services or independent curators to the music community, which for obvious reasons they have been gaining an accentuated presence, generating controversies and many positions on whether or not to pay is correct or ethical, leaving aside the vision of the legal framework. Some of these services have inflated their number of followers without fixed criteria and it’s totally understandable that these high-traffic playlists are attractive, representing important figures for those looking for exposure.
The need for artists to increase their streams has created a huge market, offering lists, listeners, followers, a few legal, but most based on fraud. It’s important to emphasize that these practices are not always carried out consciously, moreover, there are times when they are unaware that this is happening: they hire or take an offer in good faith which is executed in an incorrect way.
In December 2020, Spotify reversed approximately 750,000 tracks as a violation of its terms and conditions of use, that is, they found artificial streams on those tracks; Spotify assured that it was a measure taken to avoid the frequent use of this practice.
But, what is artificial streaming?
The artificial stream or artificial/fraudulent traffic comprises two scenarios:
- The first one is when we detect that the streams come from artificial intelligence or better known as BOTS.
- The second one is when the streams come from humans who are rented to generate massive listeners with disposable profiles, created exclusively for this purpose.
Services sold on the internet offer a certain number of streams or playlist appearances, which, according to policy, is the largest network flag. Now, what do the policies of stores like Spotify say about artificial streaming?
The rules of the game on Spotify
So that this does not take us by surprise, platforms such as Spotify expose us in their terms and conditions policies that: “the use of any external service that promises streams, playlist inclusion and followers in exchange for payment is prohibited.” Also, it exposes the sanctions that could be taken against the artist, which range from removing a certain number of streams, not paying royalties, blocking the ISRC code, to canceling the songs involved. In addition to all this, the statistics are also affected, here is some data:
Instability: Let us remember that, Algorithmic work predominates in Spotify, which is a system of automated recommendations. Depending on the needs of the platform, it constantly changes and adjusts, optimizing its operation and growth. When a track is affected by non-genuine listeners, its playback will hardly exceed 30 seconds and even if it’s enough time to take it as a valid stream, it will lower engagement and directly affect the algorithm and the playlists that feed on it, showing the track to fewer people.
Penalties: In the event that artists have already engaged in fraudulent streaming activity, the chances of appearing on editorial playlists are reduced.
Payment of royalties: Spotify’s payment system is based on pro-rata share, that is, the money that is distributed monthly among the artists is divided proportionally to the number of listeners, so inflating numbers through the artificial stream directly affects those who don’t.
As a distributor, for Indiefy it’s important to regulate and avoid these unethical practices, acting as a filter towards the stores, and in addition provide the artists with the necessary information so they do not fall into “miracle advertisement”.
This topic comprises a huge deal of information so in a new post, we will tell you about this process and the statistics verified when detecting artificial streaming as well as some recommendations that will help you boost your releases and generate organic traffic. Stay tuned! To learn more about free digital music distribution you can access Indiefy.
