What is Apple Music doing about streaming fraud?

Apple Music is doubling its penalties for content providers caught engaging in streaming fraud, aiming to eliminate manipulation and return royalties to legitimate artists.

How is AI music affecting streaming fraud?

The rise of AI-generated music has significantly amplified streaming fraud, with a substantial portion of streams on such content being fraudulent, prompting Apple Music to increase its penalties.

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Apple Music Hikes Streaming Fraud Fines by 100%

Q: How much money is lost due to streaming fraud on Apple Music?

Last year, Apple Music identified approximately 2 billion fraudulent streams, representing nearly $17 million in royalties that would have been diverted from legitimate artists.

30 Jan

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Summary

Apple Music doubles penalties for streaming fraud starting Sunday.
Fraudulent streams could cost artists $17 million annually.
AI music's rise fuels significant increases in streaming fraud.

Apple Music Hikes Streaming Fraud Fines by 100%

Apple Music is significantly increasing its penalties against streaming fraud, doubling fines for content providers caught engaging in manipulation. This aggressive stance aims to eliminate fraudulent streams from the platform. Last year alone, Apple Music identified and demonetized approximately 2 billion fraudulent streams, representing nearly $17 million in royalties that would have been unfairly diverted from legitimate artists.

The updated policy, effective starting Sunday, doubles previous fines. These penalties, calculated as a percentage of the fraudulent royalties, now range from 10% to a cap of 50%. This measure is particularly timely as the rise of AI-generated music has dramatically amplified the problem across the industry. Services like Deezer report tens of thousands of AI songs uploaded daily, with a substantial portion of their streams found to be fraudulent.