Artificial Streams on Spotify: What to Do

Spotify defines an artificial stream as one that does not reflect genuine listening intent. That covers bots and scripts, but it also covers a purchased bundle of plays that arrives from a service you hired in good faith. The consequences land on the artist, and, because Spotify bills labels and distributors for flagrant cases, on the distributor too. This guide explains what Spotify says, what warning signs you can see in your own data, how to recognise a promoter who is selling the problem, and what to do and send us if you think something is wrong.

It names no service and accuses no company. It makes no promise about what Spotify will decide, because Spotify decides. If you are planning a release, the honest ways to promote it are in the pre-save and release-day guide.

What Spotify says

Spotify’s Artificial Streaming page says it invests heavily in detecting and removing the royalty effect of artificial streams, and that it cleans public numbers every day. It also says artificial streams dilute the royalty pool and undermine fair competition. These are the consequences it lists:

• Confirmed artificial streams do not earn royalties, do not count towards public stream numbers or charts, and do not influence its recommendation algorithms.
• Public metrics such as monthly listeners and all-time stream counts are corrected.
• Depending on severity, a track can be removed from Spotify playlists or from Spotify entirely.
• Spotify sends labels and distributors monthly reports on confirmed cases. Distributors may then issue warnings, charge penalty fees, suspend accounts or remove music.

Spotify also says that paid third-party services that guarantee streams are not legitimate, that services promising playlist placement for payment violate its terms, and that using them could lead to your music being removed.

The charge on distributors

In a post dated 21 November 2023, Spotify announced that it would start charging labels and distributors per track when flagrant artificial streaming is detected on their content. Its Artificial Streaming page gives the effective date as 1 April 2024. The charge applies only where the rate of artificial streaming on a track is very high, and Spotify says it is meant to discourage working with known bad actors. Spotify publishes no amount, so do not trust a figure quoted in a forum or an advert.

What this means for you is practical. A distributor has its own reasons to act on a flagged release, and its agreement with you decides how. We do not describe that here, because it is not in a published page, and you should read your agreement and ask support if a clause is unclear.

Warning signs in your own data

Spotify lists signs that artists can look for in Spotify for Artists:

• A sudden spike in streams followed by a drop-off.
• Streams from a place where your music has not been played before.
• Most streams coming from unclear sources, such as “Other”.
• A brief, sudden jump in followers.

A spike alone proves nothing. A playlist add you did not know about, a mention in the press or a clip that people shared can all produce one. Ask yourself the questions in the table before you decide what you are looking at.

Question	Where to look	What it can suggest
Did something real happen that day?	Your calendar: posts, ads, press, a new playlist add.	A real cause makes an artificial one less likely, but does not rule it out.
Where did the listeners come from?	The Audience page, by country.	A country that has nothing to do with your audience or your promotion is worth a closer look.
What was the source?	Source of Streams, which how Spotify recommends music explains.	A large share from an unclear source is one of Spotify’s own warning signs.
How many listeners, how many streams?	Source of Streams with the streams per listener metric.	Very many streams from very few listeners can be a few accounts looping. A few devoted fans can look the same, so it proves nothing alone.
Did followers jump with no explanation?	The Audience page.	One of Spotify’s warning signs, if it comes with the others.

Spotify adds that the numbers in your private Spotify for Artists dashboard can still show spikes after royalties have been withheld and public numbers corrected, and that a message appears on the release or audience page where the difference is significant.

Red flags in a promoter

Spotify’s own advice is to be sceptical of any service that promises streams, followers or playlist placements for payment, and that an offer which seems too good to be true probably is. These questions help you test an offer before you pay.

Ask	A reasonable answer	A warning sign
What exactly will you do for my song?	A plain description, such as running advertising that sends people to your link.	“Network”, “proprietary” or “secret method”.
Do you promise a number of streams, listeners, followers or a playlist?	No promise about the outcome.	Any promise, or a price per thousand streams.
Where do the listeners come from?	Real people who chose to listen, with targeting you can see.	No answer, or places unrelated to your music.
What do you need from me?	A public link to the song.	Your Spotify or distributor login, or “dashboard access”.
How fast will it happen?	Gradually, with no date for results.	A spike within hours or days.
Can I see the playlists first?	Yes, and they hold related songs chosen by a person.	Lists of unrelated tracks, or lists that are hidden.

Never give anyone your password. If you already did, change it now and tell support.

Alerts from WBBT, and what they are not

The pricing page lists bot and fraud detection alerts from the Basic plan upwards, and not on the Free plan. An alert is a prompt to look at your data. It is not Spotify’s verdict, and Spotify and the other stores run their own checks whatever plan you are on. The absence of an alert is not proof that everything is in order, so keep reading your own analytics.

If you think something is wrong

Work through this in order. The WBBT FAQ gives the short version: stop any suspicious paid promotion, preserve screenshots and links, and notify support.

1. Stop. Pause any campaign, advert or promoter that you control or hired. Do not start a new one while you find out what happened.
2. Keep the evidence. Save dated screenshots of the Audience page by country, Source of Streams and the song’s Playlists tab. Save the playlist links, and the offer, invoice and messages from anyone you paid.
3. Protect your accounts. If you shared a password with anyone, change it.
4. Tell support. Send the release title, the UPC and the ISRCs, the date range, a description of what you ran and who you hired, the links and the screenshots. Spotify’s own advice is to tell your label or distributor about any unusual activity and to share the name and details of any promotional service you used.
5. Ask before you remove anything. Do not take the release down, or upload it again, before you have spoken to support.
6. Report suspicious playlists. Spotify has a playlist reporter and investigates before it acts.
7. Wait for the outcome. Cleaning is continuous and royalties tied to confirmed cases can be withheld. Nobody can promise a result, and there is no instant reversal.

Habits that keep a release clean

• Check Source of Streams and the country split every week for the first month. A baseline makes a change obvious.
• Write down every campaign you run, with dates and links. If a question comes up, you can answer it.
• Tell fans to listen as they normally would, and not to loop the song, use extra accounts or use automation.
• Use the free routes first: a correct profile, a careful pitch and a dated release plan. See the guides on Spotify for Artists set-up and pitching to playlists.
• Keep audience figures and earnings apart. A high stream count is not a payment, and royalty splits and payouts explains the monthly cycle.

Frequently asked questions

Will Spotify remove my song if some of its streams were artificial?

Spotify says that confirmed artificial streams earn no royalties and do not count towards public numbers, charts or recommendations. Depending on how serious the case is, a track may also be removed from Spotify playlists or from Spotify. Distributors may warn, charge fees, suspend an account or remove music. The outcome depends on what Spotify confirms and on your agreement.

Can fans who play my song on repeat cause a problem?

Spotify asks artists to discourage fans from looping tracks or using automated methods or extra accounts. Streams that do not reflect genuine listening intent are the issue, so a keen fan is not the problem and a script or a farm of accounts is. Tell your audience plainly to listen as they normally would.

If Spotify charges a distributor, does WBBT charge me?

Spotify applies its per-track charge to labels and distributors and publishes no amount. What a distributor does in response is set by its agreement with you, and this guide does not describe it. Read your distribution agreement and ask support if a clause is unclear. The WBBT FAQ says only that platforms may investigate and adjust earnings or availability under their policies.

Is it acceptable to advertise my song?

Spotify’s pages are aimed at services that promise streams or playlist placement in return for payment. Advertising a release to real people who choose whether to listen is a different thing, but keep records of what you ran and never work with a seller who promises a number. The release-day guide covers measured advertising.

What if I think my streams were flagged wrongly?

Spotify says that if you believe your streams were earned authentically you should share details of your promotion methods with your distributor or label, who can work with Spotify to review them. Send support the dates, the links, screenshots of your analytics and a plain description of what you did.

Can I report a playlist I think is fake?

Yes. Spotify has a playlist reporter for suspicious playlists and investigates before it acts. Keep your own record of the playlist link and the dates your song was added or removed, in case support or Spotify asks.

Sources and next steps

These are the pages behind the points above. Spotify changes them, so check the current wording before you rely on a detail.

• Artificial Streaming, Spotify for Artists (accessed 25 October 2026).
• Artificial streaming and paid 3rd-party services that guarantee streams, Spotify Support (accessed 25 October 2026).
• Modernizing Our Royalty System, Spotify for Artists, 21 November 2023 (accessed 25 October 2026).
• Source of streams, Spotify Support (accessed 25 October 2026).

To go further, read the pillar guide on pre-save links and release-day promotion, the guide to Spotify Discovery Mode and the guide to how Spotify recommends music. The Spotify for Artists service page explains profile claims and mapping. Compare plans on the pricing page and submit your music when it is ready.