A report alleging that gangs buy fake streams arrives at a time when executives are calling for better monitoring of the streaming ecosystem.
Svenska Dagbladet reported that Swedish law enforcement believes criminals use streaming platforms to launder money.
A coalition of digital distributors, along with Spotify and Amazon Music, have launched Music Fights Fraud to attempt to eradicate the issue.
At an investor presentation, Rob Stringer talked "lowest common denominator" content and AI's potential to open "avenues for commercial exploitation."
The Music Biz conference in Nashville devoted three panels to the issue, which attorney Mona Simonian said is "financially impacting everyone in the industry."
Beatdapp works to prevent fraud from impacting payouts. "It’s already hard to make something," co-CEO Andrew Batey says. "You should get paid correctly."
Tracks from AI music company Boomy were removed, but streamers take down songs all the time, regardless of whether AI is involved.
According to one estimate, more than $1 billion in royalties could be lost to streaming fraud worldwide. But the industry has yet to form a united approach.
"The imagination of hackers is rich and evolving," one French report noted. Here are some of the most oft-used methods.
Stream-ripping is the most prevalent form of music piracy in the States, the world's third largest market for piracy, according to a report from MUSO.
