Spotify Deleted 500,000 Streams From One Song After Bot Manipulation

Spotify removed more than 500,000 streams from Malcolm Todd's "Earrings" in June after determining the song's numbers had been manipulated by bots. The track, first released in 2024, spiked 70% in listenership overnight and reached the top of the Spotify USA charts. The Financial Times reported the surge coincided with bets on prediction market Kalshi that it would be the most-streamed song in June.

British producer and singer James Blake posted on Instagram earlier this summer that the music industry is rigged, writing, "If you're an artist, remember that in 2026 there's not a single part of the system that isn't faked." His comments followed a March SXSW podcast taping where co-founders of digital marketing agency Chaotic Good Projects described creating fake fan accounts to post and comment on artists they represent. Indie musician Eliza McLamb wrote about the session on her Substack, and WIRED later published a piece titled "The Fanfare Around the Band Geese is a Psyop." Geese frontman Cameron Winter told Rolling Stone that the band's label had hired Chaotic Good to repost performance clips and push them into algorithms, not to flood comments with bots.

Ticketmaster said in April it had identified and canceled thousands of tickets to Harry Styles' 30-night Madison Square Garden residency that were purchased by scalpers using fake identities and multiple accounts. Saumil Mehta, global president of Ticketmaster, said the tickets would be resold at face value. Producer Jack Antonoff responded on X: "you caught you?"

Deezer reported that AI-generated songs made up more than 50% of its daily uploads in June, though they accounted for under 3% of total streams and a majority of those streams were deemed fraudulent. Spotify said in a statement that all streaming services face stream manipulation and that it does not pay royalties on manipulated streams. Representatives for Malcolm Todd did not respond to requests for comment.

The Rolling Stones used AI startup Deep Voodoo, formed by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, to de-age Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood for the music video accompanying "In the Stars," from the album Foreign Tongues. Gracie Abrams, 27, addressed "nepo baby" criticism during a July press tour for Daughter From Hell, saying she had a safety net that gave her time to experiment. That album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.