Spotify playlists were used in possible millionaire blow with ghost accounts

Spotify speech

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo - RTX2F54S

A Bulgarian company used playlists on Spotify to earn up to $ 1 million with purposefully short tracks. The scheme was revealed by the specialized website “Music Business Worldwide”.

The company had two lists of songs on the streaming platform, called “Soulful Music” and “Music from the Heart,” which were among the top audiences on Spotify – and consequently more payments for songs played.

How the scheme worked

Spotify found that the lists were followed by less than two thousand users, low numbers compared to large playlists. Most of the songs were from unknown artists (actually created by the company itself), lasting for little more than thirty seconds, minimum listening time for the track to have pay.

The scheme, according to “Music Business Worldwide”, probably included creating hundreds of accounts on Spotify, on devices that listened to the tracks, registered by the company, automatically and uninterrupted. With that, they could get thousands of auditions a day for their tracks.

(Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)

The fact that the songs were short helped to increase the number of total auditions faster, explains the site, which says access to sources in the company.

Officially, Spotify did not comment on the story and only said that it “takes the artificial manipulation of streaming activity very seriously” and that it is improving its processes of detection and exclusion of these activities. Playlists are no longer on the air.

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Rafael Polcaro: I'm a Brazilian journalist who always loved Classic Rock and Heavy Metal music. That passion inspired me to create Rock and Roll Garage over 6 years ago. Music has always been a part of my life, helping me through tough times and being a support to celebrate the good ones. When I became a journalist, I knew I wanted to write about my passions. After graduating in journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, I pursued a postgraduate degree in digital communication at the same institution. The studies and experience in the field helped me improve the website and always bring the best of classic rock to the world! MTB: 0021377/MG