It might be tempting to buy fake streams in a bid to impress your peers and the labels, but do you know about the disadvantages of getting artificial streams?
Have you been finessed by playlist curators who promised authentic streams and in the end, all you got was valueless streams from bots?
Do you want to know how to differentiate between fake bot streams and real Spotify streams?
You have come to the right place. This guide will help you understand why buying fake streams is harmful to your career as an artist and the best ways to identify playlist curators who bulk up their playlist stream count with bots.
You make your rules in the music game, but one rule you must adopt regardless of your tribe or genre is common sense. There is nothing commonsensical or profitable in getting fake streams from bots. For one thing, Spotify will not pay you a dime for racking up artificial streams, and at worst, your artist account can get banned for life. Yeah, you heard that right – for life!
What is a fake stream?
A fake or artificial stream is derived using bots and scripts (automated machine processes). These automated machine processes create unusual streaming patterns that are not congruent with the behavior of an average human listener. Money paid to dishonest artists is money stolen from the hardworking ones who get their streams from genuine Spotify listeners. Spotify can adjust stream count, limit exposure, remove songs, and withhold royalties of artists who are caught in such fraudulent acts.
How to detect fake streams
Spotify’s fraud-monitoring team is purging artists using fake streams from their streaming platform. The major victims of this Spotify purge are artists unaware that the streams they got from 3rd party listener playlists are artificially generated. When reaching out to independent playlist curators, be sure to vet the playlist and toss them off your list if you find any unusual listening patterns.
These dishonest playlists can be identified by following the down-to-earth steps given in this section. It is important to note that Spotify does not provide a tool that helps artists distinguish between fake streams and real streams. Hence, the methods recommended in this guide are based on gut instinct and rationality, as there is no accessible foolproof method of identifying artificial streaming.
While paying money to get into an independent playlist is illegal, according to Spotify, the major downside of getting on these playlists is that some use bots and fake Spotify accounts to grow their playlists. So even if you are willing to risk getting caught by Spotify and intend to pay for a playlist placement, you have to ensure the streams from the playlist are real. Follow the steps below to vet a playlist.
Ask for their Playlist Growth Strategy
If your track is getting free placement from an independent playlist, it is odd to ask them for their playlist growth strategy. However, if you are going to put your money on it, it has to be legit. The healthy ways independent playlist curators grow their page are through Facebook ads, Google ads, influencer promotion, or social media engagement. If a playlist curator cannot provide you with evidence of how they grow their playlist, it is safe to assume that the playlist is fake.
Reach out to artists who have been featured on the playlist
When you want to order a piece of furniture (let’s say a chair) from a furniture company, the first thing you do is search Google for reviews from their customers. The same applies to playlist shopping. Reach out to various featured artists and ask them about their experiences with the playlist. Like every disgruntled user, any artist who has been a victim of a playlist would gladly provide you with the necessary information. Also, ask if the playlist followers saved their songs or followed them. If ten featured artists tell you the same thing about a playlist, they are most likely right.
Look for unusual followers spike using Chart metric
Chartmetric is a tool that allows you to get information about a Spotify artist, playlist, or track. Using Chartmetric, you can view the changes in the follower count of a playlist within a specified amount of time. All you need to do is copy the playlist link on Spotify and paste it into the search box on the top right of the Chartmetric website. If you discover an outrageous and sharp increase in the playlist followers count in a short period of time, the playlist might be getting plays from bots. Also, if you see a sharp decrease in followers count, there is a good reason to believe that Spotify corrected the follower count and removed fake accounts from their platform.
Disadvantages of buying fake streams
Buying fake streams is one of the few moves that have no pros and lots of cons. You can end your career by engaging in such activity. Below are the five major reasons you should never buy fake streams.
You will miss out on valuable data
There have been a ton of success stories from artists who were able to pull off a successful tour with the aid of the data gotten from Spotify. The simple way to know the best location to tour is by checking your Spotify for Artists dashboard for the cities where your music is streamed the most. However, if your streams are coming from bots, how do you want to know where to tour? Artists who opt for
such alternatives are merely deceiving themselves and hurting their chances of growing big.
Fake streams do not fool big Labels
The major reasons artists fake their age, hair, status, Instagram followers count, and Spotify monthly listeners are to get the attention of the big labels. Lol! The funny thing here is that industry insiders can easily spot fake streams. The moment they see that your streams are coming from bots, they will get pissed off. For real!
Spotify can limit your track’s exposure
According to Spotify, they will shadow-ban your song and prevent it from going viral once they detect artificial streaming activity on your account.
You can get sued
In a case where you were able to get a huge payout from Spotify using this method, Spotify can sue you. For example, in 2020, Spotify sued an indie label named Sosa for using millions of fake Spotify accounts to increase the streams of their content.
No long-term growth
Unless you make music for bots and scripts, I think there is no point buying fake streams. You cannot fool the labels since they know better. You cannot fool the labels since they know better. Also, you cannot fool music fans because random people on the internet will expose you.
Final Thoughts
True artists seek to connect to an audience that appreciates their body of work. Faking your stream count cannot get you a true fan base that will show up for your concerts and purchase your merch. These days, music fans can tell when an artist is getting streams from bots, and no one wants to listen to a fake artist.