THINGS TO KNOW

On November 7th (effective for data on November 6th), Spotify will update our data systems to remove more artificial streams from tracks’ all-time stream counts and artists’ monthly listener counts on the Spotify app. They already catch and cleanse the majority of artificial streams before they reach public surfaces — and do not pay out on all artificial streams. However, a minority of artificial streams are not cleansed before the daily data is published and remain present in public metrics. With this change, these streams will be retroactively removed from monthly listeners and all-time streams counts on a daily basis (note: streams will only be removed starting with November 6th data, not before).

This change will have an impact on Spotify for Artists but not the Bulk API:

Spotify for Artists:

• • All-time stream counts for releases and tracks will be corrected in S4A daily. However, additional release data will not be scrubbed, meaning that cleansed all-time stream counts will not match other metrics in S4A for those releases that have engaged in artificial streaming. 
  • Monthly Listeners will not be updated in S4A, meaning this number may differ from the cleansed number in the public-facing Spotify app.
  • Spotify understands that some discrepancies in S4A may be confusing, but it’s better than the status quo today. In the case of significant discrepancies, they’ll add explainer banners to Audience and Release pages to inform S4A users on why these numbers don’t match. These messages will point artists to their licensor or distributor for further questions and link them to more information on artificial streaming. See copy below:
    • Audience page message: 

• Why is my monthly listener count different on my artist profile?  

• We’ve detected artificial streams of your music, which have been removed from the public monthly listener count on your artist profile, but not from your private data on this page. If you have questions, including how this may affect your royalty payments, please contact your label or distributor. Learn more about artificial streaming.

• • • Release page message:

• Why don’t my all-time streams match the rest of my data? 

• We’ve detected artificial streams on this song. These streams have been removed from your all-time stream count above and across Spotify, but not from your private data below. If you have questions, including how this may affect your royalty payments, please contact your label or distributor. Learn more about artificial streaming.

• • Please note: this messaging will roll out in a phased approach, starting November 7th, so we can monitor performance and understanding of the messaging and ensure it is effective.

Bulk API:

• The Bulk API will remain unchanged from today — Licensors can reference their monthly artificial streams reports, which details every confirmed artificial stream, as their source of truth.

Spotify believes changes to charts and public metrics will lead to a significant decrease in artificial streaming. Removing key incentives for bad actors to inflate their streams artificially creates a level playing field, and upholds our user experience for consumers and creators alike.

We are also launching a new form that artists can use to report suspicious playlists that their music has been added to. Our goal with the form is to empower artists to take action if they’ve been added to a playlist that is driving artificial streams on their music against their will. Our team will investigate these playlists and take appropriate action if needed. The form will go live on Monday, November 4th, and the link will live on our artificial streaming landing page and help center.