How to spot a Spotify playlist scam
Back in February 2020, I blasted out a question on social media:
“Have you ever had trouble with, or just can’t figure out which are legit, Spotify playlisting service?”
Well, a staggering 71% said that they had been ripped off by a Spotify playlisting scam.
As far as we know, there currently isn’t a Spotify service ombudsman out there, or any consumer’s association which can call out the scammers and verify the platforms that are the real deal. Luckily, we have a community of independent musicians who are willing to share their experiences and warn us against services that are scamming their users.
We’ll share a list of services that were reported to us at the end of the blog. But instead of just telling you which websites to avoid, we want to equip you with the knowledge to spot a Spotify scam for yourself.
Some scammers are easy to spot (a cheap website with poorly written copy will give them away in seconds) but the majority of websites on our avoid list look professional. It’s harder to catch them out. But look more closely for these signs.
Signs that a Spotify playlist service is a scam.
Spotify playlist scammers offer the impossible
You know the old adage “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” If a service is offering guaranteed placements on top playlists like Rap Caviar, it should set off alarm bells. If a Google ad offers 100,000 playlist followers for $40, keep on scrolling.
Though it might be tempting to give it a shot, think about it. If it were that simple, playlists would have no quality control, they would play music that nobody wants to listen to, and they would cease to be influential. There’s a reason why it’s not that easy to get onto playlists.
They also offer things that are already available
Ironically, as well as promising the world, they also offer things that are freely available to anyone with a Spotify artist account such as “get stats at Spotify for artists.”
Never ending promotions
Back at the beginning of 2020 when we shot a YouTube video on this very topic, one such ripoff company (promoforartists.com) had a banner on their website claiming to run a “limited time offer” with a countdown showing that their sale ends in five days. At the time of writing this blog (November 2020) the same “New Year Sale” is running 10 months later! Only this time the offer is supposedly ending in 2 days.
WATCH: Stop being scammed by fake Spotify services: Spotify playlist scams
Fake reviews
Don’t be fooled by reviews on their own website. There is nothing to stop a scrupulous scammer from writing and posting fake reviews on their own site.
Fake or stolen artwork
Spotify playlist scams first drew my attention when one such scammer used my artwork to promote their website. After asking them to desist they then went on to use a friend’s artwork in the same ad.
On their glossy website, they claim to have worked with over 10,000 artists. Of course, they don’t provide traceable names, they just show thumbnails of some of the “artists” they have worked with. A quick Google reverse image search revealed that all of the artwork is in fact stock photography.
How to promote yourself on Spotify legitimately
Showco
Showco is a legitimate verified platform that allows you to run interactive ads and campaigns on Spotify, as well as running ads on renowned online music publications like Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. You can apply directly on their website and start trying out a limited version of their service for free.
Spotify Ad Studio
Of course, one legitimate way to create ads and get more listeners is to head straight to the source. Ad Studio is Spotify’s self serve platform that allows you to create audio or video ad campaigns within minutes. One barrier is that the minimum campaign budget is £250.00. If you don’t have much collateral, Showco is a more affordable alternative.
List of Spotify Scam Websites
We purposefully haven’t hyperlinked these websites because we don’t want Google bots to associate us with these crooks. But feel free to copy and paste a few examples so you can get an understanding of what a Spotify scam website can look like.
Avoid
bestsellermarket.com
click-boost.com
fanfavorites.io
flowsty.com
imperiumnetpromo.com
promoforartists.com
streamko.com
Reported by YouTube subscribers
musicpromotioncorp.com
musicvertising.com
playlistbooker.com
prominoo.com
songlifty.com
spotifreak.com
spotifyjedi.net
spotistar.com
streamingfamous.com
thetunesclub.com