Spotify Criticized For Letting Fake Albums Appear On Real Artist Pages (arstechnica.com)
(Tuesday October 15, 2024 @05:30PM (BeauHD)
from the say-it-ain't-so dept.)
- Reference: 0175259889
- News link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/24/10/15/2047228/spotify-criticized-for-letting-fake-albums-appear-on-real-artist-pages
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/spotify-criticized-for-letting-fake-albums-appear-on-real-artist-pages/
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica:
> This fall, thousands of fake albums were added to Spotify, with [1]some appearing on real artist pages , where they're positioned to lure unsuspecting listeners into streaming by posing as new releases from favorite bands. An Ars reader flagged the issue after finding a fake album on the Spotify page of an UK psych rock band called Gong. The Gong fan knew that the band had begun touring again after a surprise new release last year, but the "latest release" listed by Spotify wasn't that album. Instead, at the top of Gong's page was a fake self-titled album supposedly released in 2024.
>
> The real fan detected the fake instantly, and not just because the generic electronic music sounded nothing like Gong's experimental sounds. The album's cover also gave the scheme away, using a generic font and neon stock image that invoked none of the trippy imagery that characterized Gong's typical album covers. Ars confirmed with Gong member Dave Sturt that the self-titled item was an obvious fake on Monday. At that time, Sturt said the band was working to get the junk album removed from its page, but as of Tuesday morning, that album remained online, along with hundreds of other albums uploaded by a fake label that former Spotify data "alchemist" Glenn McDonald flagged in a social media [2]post that Spotify seemingly ignored.
>
> On his site, McDonald gathered the junk album data by label, noting that [3]Beat Street Music , which has no web presence but released the fake Gong album, uploaded 240 junk albums on Friday alone. Similarly, [4]Ancient Lake Records uploaded 471 albums on Friday. And [5]Gupta Music added 483 just a few days prior, along with 600 junk albums from Future Jazz Records uploaded between September 30 and October 8. These junk albums don't appear to be specifically targeting popular artists, McDonald told Ars. Rather, generic music is uploaded under a wide range of one-word artist names. However, by using that tactic, some of these fake albums appeared on real artist pages, such as Gong, experimental rock band Swans, and English rock bands Asia and Yes. And that oversight is on Spotify, McDonald suggested.
"We are aware of the issue, have relocated the content in question, and are considering our further options against the providing licensor," a Spotify spokesperson said. "When we identify or are alerted to attempts by bad actors to game the system, we take action that may include removing stream counts and withholding royalties. Spotify invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of bad actors attempting to collect unearned royalties."
[1] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/spotify-criticized-for-letting-fake-albums-appear-on-real-artist-pages/
[2] https://x.com/glenn_mcdonald/status/1844838726595137841
[3] https://everynoise.com/research.cgi?mode=album&name=%2F%2F+%24Beat+Street+Music
[4] https://everynoise.com/research.cgi?mode=album&name=%2F%2F+%24Ancient+Lake+Records
[5] https://everynoise.com/research.cgi?mode=album&name=%2F%2F+%24Gupta+Music
> This fall, thousands of fake albums were added to Spotify, with [1]some appearing on real artist pages , where they're positioned to lure unsuspecting listeners into streaming by posing as new releases from favorite bands. An Ars reader flagged the issue after finding a fake album on the Spotify page of an UK psych rock band called Gong. The Gong fan knew that the band had begun touring again after a surprise new release last year, but the "latest release" listed by Spotify wasn't that album. Instead, at the top of Gong's page was a fake self-titled album supposedly released in 2024.
>
> The real fan detected the fake instantly, and not just because the generic electronic music sounded nothing like Gong's experimental sounds. The album's cover also gave the scheme away, using a generic font and neon stock image that invoked none of the trippy imagery that characterized Gong's typical album covers. Ars confirmed with Gong member Dave Sturt that the self-titled item was an obvious fake on Monday. At that time, Sturt said the band was working to get the junk album removed from its page, but as of Tuesday morning, that album remained online, along with hundreds of other albums uploaded by a fake label that former Spotify data "alchemist" Glenn McDonald flagged in a social media [2]post that Spotify seemingly ignored.
>
> On his site, McDonald gathered the junk album data by label, noting that [3]Beat Street Music , which has no web presence but released the fake Gong album, uploaded 240 junk albums on Friday alone. Similarly, [4]Ancient Lake Records uploaded 471 albums on Friday. And [5]Gupta Music added 483 just a few days prior, along with 600 junk albums from Future Jazz Records uploaded between September 30 and October 8. These junk albums don't appear to be specifically targeting popular artists, McDonald told Ars. Rather, generic music is uploaded under a wide range of one-word artist names. However, by using that tactic, some of these fake albums appeared on real artist pages, such as Gong, experimental rock band Swans, and English rock bands Asia and Yes. And that oversight is on Spotify, McDonald suggested.
"We are aware of the issue, have relocated the content in question, and are considering our further options against the providing licensor," a Spotify spokesperson said. "When we identify or are alerted to attempts by bad actors to game the system, we take action that may include removing stream counts and withholding royalties. Spotify invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of bad actors attempting to collect unearned royalties."
[1] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/spotify-criticized-for-letting-fake-albums-appear-on-real-artist-pages/
[2] https://x.com/glenn_mcdonald/status/1844838726595137841
[3] https://everynoise.com/research.cgi?mode=album&name=%2F%2F+%24Beat+Street+Music
[4] https://everynoise.com/research.cgi?mode=album&name=%2F%2F+%24Ancient+Lake+Records
[5] https://everynoise.com/research.cgi?mode=album&name=%2F%2F+%24Gupta+Music
"Invests heavily" (Score:3)
by Sebby ( 238625 )
> Spotify invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of bad actors attempting to collect unearned royalties.
But not quite heavily enough to, you know, code any sort of verification system the artists can use to confirm when stuff gets added under their listings.
Quite the "investment" Spotify has, indeed.
"Unearned royalties" (Score:2)
by dpille ( 547949 )
I would expect anyone involved in the various and sundry methods of extracting value from copyright not to use such a dangerous phrase. "Undeserved royalties" maybe, but not "unearned" unless Spotify didn't actually stream it. Unless, of course, Spotify routinely pays royalties on music that wasn't streamed, at which point you'd have to acknowledge that the presence of misleadingly-credited or -titled albums on their platform wouldn't be the most glaring problem they have.
Noticed this elsewhere too (Score:3)
Happening on Youtube Music too. A new single from famed video game composer Jeremy Soule? No, generic AI generated pop trash. These services really need some sort of security and authentication for artist attribution, this is such a boring, low stakes scam that it's the "single ladies in your area want you" ad of today.