Music Industry

Beware: More fake artists are popping up on Spotify

With 60 million songs available on Spotify, it would be naive to think that all of them are, like, real. A chunk of them are fake, fictitious, and in no way actually there.

Zola Jesus, an artist I quite admire, posted this over the weekend.

https://twitter.com/ZOLAJESUS/status/1234115377719922694

Click on the above and follow the thread. Something’s definitely broken.

The detective work regarding the mysterious Jan Thiel is interesting as that person doesn’t seem to exist. (If you’ve been to Curaçao, there’s a beach by that name, but ignore that.)

How does this artist get that many streams with only 72 followers? Jan Thiel music is only found on five Spotify-curated playlists, too.

Something/someone is getting gamed./

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38011 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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