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๐Ÿค– What Does Artificial Streaming Mean?

Refers to fraudulent practices used to falsely inflate the number of streams on a song or album. ๐Ÿ“ˆโŒ

Carlos Holguin avatar
Written by Carlos Holguin
Updated over a week ago

These streams are generated through non-legitimate means that do not represent real human listeners, and they violate the terms and conditions of all major digital platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and others. ๐Ÿšซ๐ŸŽง


๐Ÿ› ๏ธ How Does It Work?

People attempting to boost their numbers artificially often use:

๐Ÿ” Automated bots that loop songs nonstop
๐Ÿญ Click farms with hundreds of fake accounts
๐ŸŽญ Software that mimics real user behavior to avoid detection
๐Ÿ“ฑ Purchased streams from shady third-party services


โŒ Why Is This a Problem?

While it might seem harmless, artificial streaming actually:

โš ๏ธ Tricks platform algorithms and distorts charts
๐Ÿ’ธ Generates unearned royalties
๐Ÿ“‰ Puts your artist profile and catalog at risk
๐Ÿ›‘ Can result in music takedowns, account suspensions, or withheld royalties by DSPs

Even if you werenโ€™t aware of it, your music can still be penalized if linked to fraudulent activity. ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ


๐ŸŽฏ In Summary:

Artificial streaming is:

๐Ÿšซ Any attempt to generate fake plays
๐Ÿšซ Done through tools or services that donโ€™t reflect real listeners
๐Ÿšซ A violation of DSP policies that can lead to serious consequences

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