My Song Was Removed for Artificial Streaming but I Never Bought Streams. Now What?

Last checked: 8 October 2026Sources: 11, dated at the end

Disclosure: MusicPromoLab sells music promotion. Every claim below links to its source at the end.

Why does Spotify remove songs from artists who never bought streams?

Because Spotify judges the streams a track receives, not who caused them. Spotify defines an artificial stream as one that “doesn’t reflect genuine user listening intent,” including any attempt to manipulate the platform with bots or scripts [1]. That definition is about the listening, not about your intentions. If a large share of your plays came from automated accounts, the track gets treated as a track with artificial streams, whoever pressed the button.

The distributors say this openly. TuneCore’s help center answers “Can I receive artificial streams without doing anything wrong?” with a plain yes, and adds that using a third party “does not necessarily protect an artist from the consequences” [9]. DistroKid tells its users that when Spotify sends a notice, “it’s also likely you didn’t know the marketing service (or playlist) that you paid for was generating fraudulent streams” [7].

In practice, innocent artists usually get caught in one of two ways:

• A promoter you paid used bots. DistroKid warns that services which “appear legit” can still use bots to inflate streams [6].
• A playlist added you without asking. Some playlist owners grow their lists with fake streams, and DistroKid notes that being placed on one “can lead to artificial streams and may result in the removal of your release,” even if you never paid for the placement [6].

Neither of these is a moral judgment on you. They are still your problem to fix, because the platform and your distributor will act on the track either way.

What exactly happens when Spotify flags a track?

The flagged streams stop counting, and the track can lose playlists or be taken down. Spotify’s own artificial streaming hub lists the effects of confirmed artificial streams: they earn nothing, they don’t count toward public stream numbers or charts, and they don’t help recommendation algorithms. It may also remove songs from playlists, suspend accounts, or remove tracks entirely [2]. Spotify reports confirmed cases to distributors every month, and the distributor then decides whether to warn you, charge a fee, suspend your account, or take the music down [2].

Money is also involved. In November 2023 Spotify announced it would start charging labels and distributors per track “when flagrant artificial streaming is detected,” beginning early the following year [3], and its help page says the charge applies “only for very high rates of artificial streaming per track” [1]. TuneCore puts the figure at €10 per affected track per month [8]. Your distributor usually passes that charge on to you.

One detail confuses a lot of people. TuneCore points out that Spotify can remove artificial streams from your sales reports and public play counts “even if they still appear in your Spotify for Artists profile” [8]. So the number on your dashboard may not match what you get paid.

What do DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby do and charge?

TuneCore charges €10 per flagged track per month, CD Baby about $10–$11, and DistroKid publishes no figure. Each distributor writes its own rules on top of Spotify’s. This is what their help centers say as of October 2026:

Two points from that table matter most. TuneCore charges the fee every month a track appears in Spotify’s fraud report, so five flagged tracks in one month cost €50, and one track flagged three months running costs €30 [8]. CD Baby says any flagged activity, “whether intentional or not,” can count as a strike on your account [10]. If you use a smaller distributor, look up its artificial streaming page before you do anything else. The rules differ more than most artists expect.

What should I do first?

Write to your distributor with your evidence, and don’t try to make up for the lost numbers by buying streams or engagement. TuneCore says it outright: never try to counteract suspicious activity by purchasing additional streams or engagement, because that can attach more artificial activity to your music [9]. Then work through these steps in order.

1. Read the notice carefully. Note which tracks are named, the date, and whether it mentions a fee, a takedown, or an appeal route. Keep the email.
2. Export your evidence before anything changes. Take screenshots in Spotify for Artists of the affected song’s stream graph and its Source of streams breakdown, which you find under Segmentation on the Audience, Song or Release pages [4]. Note the playlists the song was on and the dates its streams jumped.
3. List every promotion you paid for. Include the company name, what they promised, what you paid, the dates, and your receipts or emails. Spotify’s advice to artists who believe their streams were earned is to share the methods they used with their distributor or label [1].
4. Contact your distributor in writing. Explain what you know, attach the evidence, and ask directly whether an appeal exists and whether you can re-release. TuneCore says its notices carry a potential appeal path [9]. CD Baby says it cannot reverse the platform’s decision [11], so there the conversation is mostly about what happens next.
5. Report suspicious playlists to Spotify. See the next section.

Does Spotify’s Playlist Reporter still exist?

Yes. Spotify’s help page tells artists to “report suspicious playlists your music has been added to” with its playlist reporter [1], and its artificial streaming hub points to the same tool [2]. The reporter lives at artists.spotify.com/c/playlist-reporter and asks you to sign in with your Spotify for Artists account. On 8 October 2026 the link still led to Spotify’s sign-in page [5]. DistroKid and CD Baby both send their users to it as well [7][10].

How do you know which playlist to report? Look for one that suddenly sends a large share of your streams while showing little sign of real listeners. TuneCore suggests watching for spikes you can’t explain, unfamiliar playlists driving significant activity, and streams from regions where you have no audience [9]. Its help center names SubmitHub’s playlist checker and artist.tools as free ways to check a playlist [9], and DistroKid links the artist.tools bot checker too [6]. The botted playlist checklist lists nine signs to look for. Treat any tool as a second opinion; Spotify makes the final call.

Reporting a playlist won’t restore your song on its own. It does put on record that the streams came from somewhere you didn’t control, and it helps Spotify find the source.

Can I re-release the song?

It depends on your distributor, and the answers are opposite. DistroKid says that if you are not using promotional services, you can re-upload the song with the same ISRC, which gives it a new Spotify URI and “a fresh start” [7]. Keeping the ISRC keeps the recording’s identity, while the new URI means Spotify treats it as a new item in its catalog. TuneCore says tracks removed for artificial streaming cannot be re-uploaded or redistributed [8]. CD Baby’s help pages don’t address re-release, so ask them before you submit anything [10].

If you do get a second chance, use it carefully:

• Stop every campaign tied to the old release before the new one goes live, including anything that is “still running” in the background.
• Don’t send the new link to the promoter or playlist that caused the problem.
• Plan the re-release like a real release, with a date, a pitch, and content ready. The free music release plan template turns your date into a dated checklist, and the Spotify pitch template and writer helps with the pitch.
• Watch the Source of streams view for the first few weeks [4]. If an unfamiliar playlist shows up and starts driving most of your plays, report it straight away.

How do I protect future releases?

Pay for work, never for a number of streams, and watch your data during every release. The distributors give almost identical advice. DistroKid’s version is the bluntest: do not pay for any service that offers more streams, more followers, or playlist placement [6]. TuneCore adds that no legitimate promotion method can guarantee a specific number of organic streams or listeners [9]. Spotify’s hub asks you to question any marketer about how they promote and to research their track record [2].

A short routine covers most of the risk:

• Before you pay anyone, ask exactly where the listeners come from. Paying for advertising, pitching, or PR is paying for work. Paying for a number of streams is paying for an outcome nobody can honestly promise. The guide Is Spotify promotion legit? walks through the questions to ask.
• During a release, check Spotify for Artists every few days. Sudden spikes, a single playlist taking over your stream sources, or listeners from countries you never reach are all worth a closer look [9].
• When something looks wrong, report the playlist, tell your distributor, and keep your notes. A written record made at the time carries more weight than one rebuilt months later.
• Keep your receipts for every promotion service you use. If a notice ever arrives, you’ll have the list Spotify asks you to share [1].

None of this guarantees you’ll never be added to a bad playlist, because strangers can add your song to theirs. It does mean that if it happens, you’ll spot it early and have the paperwork ready.

Keep reading: Spotify for Artists stats, explained · Botted playlist red flags · All guides · Free artist tools