&TillyYou're a new artist dipping your toes into the music industry, or perhaps a seasoned musician venturing into online promotion. Online marketing offers fantastic opportunities, but it’s worth remaining cautious of certain types of predatory traps.
So, be wary of:
Payola
Payola simply means paying for guaranteed promotion of your song, e.g. paying someone money to add your song to their playlist. It’s not just unethical; it’s a violation of Spotify's (and other streaming platforms') terms of service and can result in a fine, your music being removed, or your entire profile being suspended. We don't tolerate any form of payola on SubmitHub.
Curators who accept money for guaranteed placement often use bots to make their playlists more attractive.
Botted/fake playlists
Bots are programs designed to artificially inflate streams by playing songs repeatedly. There are many risks involved for artists who fall into this trap and, subsequently, Spotify now fines distributors for artificial streams. We take a deeper dive into the fake playlists topic here.
One of the most common scams involves companies like Artister, Wavr.ai (now "rebranded" as Envua.org but still the same thing), RepostNG, and others. They will place your song in a playlist for a brief period, generating a high number of streams for the release, with the hopes that you'll take notice and reach out to them for further promotion. However, the streams aren’t real. If this has happened to you or anyone you know, the best course of action (explained in detail here) is to contact the playlist owner and request that they remove your song, while also notifying Spotify about the suspicious playlist through Spotify for Artists.
Another scenario to watch out for is services and websites offering a specific number of streams. If they guarantee you specifically 5000 streams for just 99 USD, there must be a reason. More often than not, it involves artificially inflating your numbers by using bots or unauthorized access to accounts to play your songs. The same applies to promises of a certain number of likes for your songs or followers for your profile – this is something that cannot be promised without even hearing the song 🤷🏻♀️
If you look at the code in the screenshot example above, you can see that the “active listeners” is actually a number generated by a random number generator.
Unsolicited promo-offering emails
Beware of seemingly personalized emails or direct messages praising your music and offering a boost from unknown individuals or agencies. These messages often sound similar and appear to be personalized, but they are often just part of a CRM (customer relationship management) system. These systems ‘scrape’ Spotify to identify potential clients and then send out automated messages.
We're not suggesting that all of these services will inflate your numbers with fake streams – some might, some might not. It’s important to approach these offers with caution. Have a look at the examples below.
One more thing to note: Expensive PR services typically generate the best results for established artists with professionally produced music that has broad appeal. If you're not at that level yet or your music caters to a very niche audience, these services are likely not worth the investment for you (they won't tell that to you, though).
High-pressure tactics
Limited-time offers and deadlines are used to instill a false sense of urgency. Don't fall for this common marketing tactic – the countdown in the email often leads to another (and another), or a similar discount offered in a few days. Expect follow-up emails with phrases like "extended due to great interest”, "one more day to use our discount”, or "last hours to benefit from..."
Take your time, thoroughly research the services, and make informed decisions instead of rushing to use discount codes "while there's still time."
Fear tactics
An aggressive approach, frequently (though not exclusively) observed on Meta, presents with threatening messages about account deletion or rule violations. These messages may prompt you to click on a link or make a payment to "appeal" or "resolve" the issue.
Other tactics prey on your insecurities, with scammers contacting you about perceived flaws in your music, production, profile, or website. They may offer to "fix" or improve these aspects.
To protect yourself (and others) from falling victim to such predatory techniques:
Be realistic: Building a successful music career takes time, hard work, and dedication. Aim for steady growth, and don't expect a sudden explosion because of one "magical" service.
Do your research: Before engaging with any service, gather as much information as possible and verify its legitimacy. Don't rely solely on review score sites like Trustpilot, as scamming companies don't hesitate to buy reviews. Look out for signs such as the absence of negative reviews or a sudden influx of reviews during a given time period, followed by long stretches of silence. You can also check (or ask) on Reddit and other trusted platforms for further insights.
Trust your gut: If you don't understand how something works or what's going on behind the scenes, be careful. If it feels shady, ask questions, or avoid it and only use services that you understand.
Ask for a free trial: If someone claims to genuinely love your music in a promo email, ask for a free trial of their service before committing to payment. This allows you to gauge the sincerity of their interest and the effectiveness of their service.
Report/review scams: If you've been a victim of a scam or encountered suspicious activity, share your experience online. Review the scamming site, engage in discussions on social media, and report the incident to relevant platforms (including informing a Spotify for Artists agent if you notice you were added to a known botted playlist). Speaking out can help protect fellow musicians from falling victim to the same scheme.
Did we forget anything? Feel free to share more insights and experiences in the comments!