So, another Spotify scandal: the problem of “ghost artists” who make millions of dollars from fake music. Of course, Spotify has other problems related to paying for rights. But in this case, the antagonists are not live bands, but “ghost artists” who are trying to hit the jackpot and make easy money. About twenty people are behind more than 500 pseudonyms and fill playlists with chill-out music with short songs, in some cases created in a couple of clicks, that collect millions of views.
Artificial intelligence in the service of fake artists
Listeners in “Discovery” mode do not pay attention to the names of the artists performing instrumental covers or background music. These are unscrupulous producers, but there are also many creations that are the result of generative artificial intelligence (AI). In most cases, these are songs no longer than a minute and a half, which increases their number.
Spotify, as always, is in constant conflict with the royalty distribution system, which keeps a juicy 55% for record labels in streaming, an equally important 30% for platforms, and a more meager 15% for music editors.
For example, an “unknown Bulgarian organization” managed to make a million dollars from the playlists “Soulful Music” and “Music from the Heart”, helped by 1,200 Spotify premium accounts that played them non-stop to boost views with bots and at the same time get recommendations from real users.
How much does Spotify pay?
It is estimated that 93% of artists available on the platform do not reach 1,000 monthly listeners, meaning that listening is concentrated among a few, and even among bands with major labels, it is impossible to monetize plays. There are no exact figures on this, but Spotify claims that it earns two-thirds of every dollar it makes from subscriptions or advertising. In any case, according to various calculations, Spotify pays between $0.003 and $0.004 per song played. One million plays would be equivalent to between $3,000 and $4,000.
How does Spotify fight fake artists?
The platform has taken timid steps to combat fraudulent artists, in some cases due to pressure from the industry. As for artificial intelligence, for example, it has removed songs that generate voices indistinguishable from the real artists. “Heart on my Sleeve” is a song that has been played by 20 million people because it was advertised as a (fictional) collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd. Its creator simply identified himself as Ghostwriter at the end, saying that it was created thanks to a program he trained on the voices of both singers. Record company Universal Music Group (UMG) was quick to point out that this is a violation of copyright agreements and the law. The song has since disappeared from the platform, but can still be heard on YouTube.
In 2024, Spotify announced new measures to combat fraudulent activity, which include cracking down on streaming bots and those uploading “short-form functional noise content.” In addition to the platform removing songs with illegal playback, starting in 2024, it will penalize labels and distributors that engage in “egregious” artificial streaming, as well as creators who upload white noise to playlists to extract “excessive payments.”
Read also: How Much Data Does Spotify Use?
