Streaming Fraud 101

Streaming fraud refers to the illegitimate practice of using deceptive, inappropriate, or unpermitted methods to artificially increase the number of streams a song or album receives in order to skew public perception of notoriety, to gain financial rewards, or any other benefit(s) not otherwise obtained by legitimate means.

Also known as "stream manipulation" or "artificial streaming," streaming fraud often relies on the usage of bots, click farms, or illegitimate promotional services to drive fake plays, likes, playlist listings, and subscriptions.

Streaming fraud affects the entire music industry by diluting the royalty pool, reducing revenue for legitimate streams, and slowing the approval and release process for creators. Estimates vary, but approximately 5-10 percent of all streams are suspected to be fraudulent, which can account for hundreds of millions of dollars in lost royalties each year.