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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →If your song is getting suspicious streams or has been added to a bot playlist without your involvement, save the evidence and contact your distributor or label promptly. On Spotify, report the suspicious playlist as well. If the problem is an unauthorized upload of your recording, file an infringement report instead: that is a different issue from artificial plays on a release you authorized.
First, identify what happened
Streaming fraud and music misuse can look similar in a dashboard, but they call for different reports. Work out which of these situations best describes the problem:
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- Suspicious plays or playlist placement: Your authorized release is receiving an unusual burst of streams, or an unfamiliar playlist has added it. This may be unsolicited; the spike alone does not prove who caused it.
- A question about whether streams are genuine: A platform or distributor has contacted you, or you have reason to believe activity is under review. Be ready to explain legitimate promotion and provide records.
- Unauthorized upload: Someone has uploaded your recording without permission. Use the platform’s intellectual-property or infringement process to request removal.
- Incorrect artist-profile attribution: Another artist’s music appears on your profile. That is a profile or metadata problem, not proof of fraud; ask your distributor or label to correct the association.
Spotify describes separate routes for suspicious playlists and unauthorized uploads in its streaming guidance and infringement reporting guidance.
What to do about suspicious streams
1. Preserve a dated record
Before activity changes or disappears, capture the details you can see. Keep dated screenshots and notes covering:
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- The platform, track and release links, and the date you noticed the activity.
- The playlist name and URL, if visible, and when your music appeared there.
- Unusual changes in audience or geography shown in your artist dashboard.
- Any platform or distributor notices, including their dates.
- Receipts, campaign details and communications that show how you conducted legitimate promotion.
These records help you describe what happened; they do not, by themselves, establish who caused the streams. Spotify asks artists who believe their streams were authentic to share how they promoted the content with their distributor or label (Spotify’s guidance).
2. Contact your distributor or label
Send the incident details and supporting records to your distributor or label as soon as practical. Ask them to review the issue with the platform and tell you the applicable process, evidence requirements and any deadlines. Spotify says the distributor or label works with its team to review suspected artificial-streaming cases. Do not assume that reporting directly to Spotify replaces this step.
3. Report a suspicious Spotify playlist
If a Spotify playlist added your music and appears suspicious, report it to Spotify using its playlist and streaming-fraud guidance. Spotify says it investigates whether reported playlists engaged in artificial streaming. Include the playlist details and explain that you did not arrange the placement, if that is the case.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches4. If the recording was uploaded without permission, file an infringement report
For an unauthorized upload—not simply suspicious plays on your own authorized release—use Spotify’s infringement claim route to request removal. On another service, use that service’s intellectual-property reporting process; the reporting route and outcome may differ.
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What may happen while a case is reviewed
Spotify says confirmed artificial streaming can result in associated royalties being withheld, public stream counts being adjusted, playlists being removed, and distributor action. Distributor consequences may include warnings and, in flagrant or repeated cases, content removal or account suspension. Spotify also reserves the right to remove manipulated content in repeated or egregious cases. These are possible outcomes, not a prediction about an individual artist’s case (Spotify’s guidance).
Dashboard figures and public metrics may not match during an investigation or data refresh. Spotify says private Spotify for Artists data may continue to show artificial-streaming spikes even when related royalties may be withheld and public metrics adjusted; significant discrepancies may prompt a dashboard message. Save dated screenshots, but do not treat one metric as conclusive proof of who caused the activity (Spotify for Artists’ explanation).
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How the advice differs by platform
The available platform guidance is not interchangeable. Spotify provides specific steps for playlist reports and distributor involvement. Apple’s guidance warns against paid promises of more Apple Music plays, while SoundCloud warns that fake-stream findings can put music at risk, including possible catalog removal. Those statements do not establish identical appeal rights or procedures across services.
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| Service or guidance | What it establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | Artists can report suspicious playlists; Spotify works with distributors or labels to review cases and describes possible consequences. | A guaranteed resolution, reinstatement, or universal case deadline. |
| Apple | A person or company charging a fee to obtain more Apple Music plays is not authorized by Apple (Apple’s guidance). | A specific artist-side reporting or appeal process for unsolicited artificial streams. |
| SoundCloud | Fake-stream findings can put music at risk, including possible catalog removal (SoundCloud’s guidance). | That Spotify’s reporting steps or consequences apply to SoundCloud. |
Ask your own distributor or label which process applies to your release. The reviewed guidance does not establish a single deadline or appeal procedure for every platform and distributor.
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Avoid services promising guaranteed plays
Do not pay a service that guarantees streams or playlist placement. Spotify calls guaranteed-stream services illegitimate and warns that they may lead to music removal. Apple says companies claiming to obtain more Apple Music plays for a fee are not authorized by Apple. Use your artist dashboard, platform reporting route and distributor or label support instead (Spotify; Apple).
Why the issue is receiving industry attention
IFPI announced a Streaming Integrity Initiative on 14 September 2026, describing an industry effort to establish baseline practices for preventing, detecting and responding to streaming fraud. Participating organizations named in the announcement include CD Baby, Ditto Music, RouteNote, Symphonic and The Orchard. The initiative signals coordination among industry participants; it does not promise a particular distributor’s response or determine an individual artist’s rights (IFPI’s announcement).
IFPI’s 2026 Global Music Report said that up to 85% of streams on AI-generated music were fraudulent in 2025, citing Deezer; the report said Deezer’s figure for the prior year was 70%. Those figures concern streams on AI-generated music, not music streams overall, and do not indicate the likelihood that any one artist’s suspicious activity is fraudulent (IFPI’s report).
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