Spotify removed my streams. What do I do?

What counts as artificial streaming on Spotify?

Spotify's definition is any stream that doesn't reflect a real person genuinely choosing to listen. That includes:

• bots and scripts playing a track on repeat;
• paid services that guarantee a number of streams, followers or a playlist place, which Spotify's terms don't allow;
• playlists that bots stream, sometimes with your song added without your knowledge;
• fans streaming a song on loop in an organised way, or using extra accounts on a Family or Duo plan to play only that track. Spotify asks artists to actively discourage this, even when it's well meant.

The last one surprises people. A "let's all stream it a hundred times on release day" push from friends counts. Spotify says tactics like that are broadly caught by its detection systems and can lead to penalties.

Can real streams be flagged as artificial?

They can be, and it's the part artists find hardest. In our community, artists have had streams stripped or a release removed after a spike they were sure was real: a radio playlist abroad, or one unusually busy week. Now "is this safe?" is the question they ask before any promotion.

Spotify says some services use bots to stream an artist's music against their will or without their knowledge, and that this is a small minority of the artificial streaming it sees. The signs in your data are the same ones a paid service leaves: a spike with no clear cause, often from a place you've never had listeners, then a drop. Spotify says that if you see anything like that, you should tell your distributor straight away and report the playlist, and that it will investigate.

So the honest answer is that being innocent doesn't stop the flag. Having a record of what you did does help you answer it. That record is further down this page.

What happens when Spotify finds artificial streams?

From Spotify's own help pages, read on 28 October 2026, here's what can happen, roughly from least to most serious:

Spotify also sends labels and distributors a monthly report on confirmed cases, and your distributor acts on that report. So their email may be the first you hear of it, even when your dashboard shows nothing odd: Spotify says it sometimes removes artificial streams before they reach Spotify for Artists. Check your distributor's terms for what they do if Spotify charges them, including whether they charge you a penalty fee.

What should you do in the first 48 hours?

Here's what we'd do, in this order:

1. Don't buy anything to fix it. A service offering to "restore" your streams or get you "re-verified" is the same problem again.
2. Read the message in Spotify for Artists. When there's a big gap between your public numbers and your own dashboard, Spotify shows a message on the release or audience page. Screenshot it with the date. If there isn't one, carry on.
3. Find where the spike came from. In your dashboard, look at the playlists, sources and cities for the days it jumped. Write down any playlist name you don't recognise.
4. Read your distributor's email properly. Is it a warning, a fee or a takedown? Write down what it asks you to do, by when, and how to reply.
5. Reply with your promotion record. Spotify says that if you believe your streams were real, you should share the methods you used to promote the music with your distributor or label, and they'll work with Spotify to review it. If you used a promotional service, Spotify asks you to give your distributor its name and details too. Keep it to facts and dates.
6. Report any playlist you didn't ask to be on. Spotify takes reports of suspicious playlists your music was added to, through the playlist reporter in Spotify for Artists, and investigates before it acts.
7. Hold off re-uploading the song. Wait until your distributor has answered. Re-uploading a flagged track while the review is open can look like trying to get around it.

Step 7 is our own judgement. Spotify doesn't set it as a rule. If you paid a service that promised real listeners and delivered bots, that's a separate matter with the service. This page is general information about how the platform says it works and isn't legal advice. For a dispute over money or a contract, your options include your distributor's own dispute route, the Musicians' Union if you're a member, or a music lawyer.

How do you keep a promotion record?

This is the free thing on this page, and the habit we'd ask every artist to start with their next release. One row for every single thing you do to promote a song. It takes a few minutes a week and it's what you'll want if a distributor ever asks.

Keep it with your split sheets and release files. If a spike comes from somewhere on your list, you can show it. If it comes from somewhere that isn't, that's worth reporting.

How do you promote music without risking a takedown?

Nobody can promise a release will never be flagged, us included. You can make it much less likely:

• Never pay for a number. Streams, followers, a guaranteed playlist place. Spotify says these services aren't legitimate and can get your music removed.
• Ask any service how it works before you pay. Spotify's own advice is to ask about the methods and check reviews from artists who've used it. Our paid promotion guide has a ten-question check and a list of signs a playlist is fake.
• Pitch through Spotify for Artists. Pitch a song at least 7 days before release and Spotify adds it to your followers' Release Radar. The pitch builder helps you write it.
• Ask fans for a follow and a save, not a hundred plays. A follow puts your next pitched release in their Release Radar. Looping is the thing Spotify asks you to discourage.
• Watch the week after each release. Spotify lists the warning signs: a sudden spike for no clear reason followed by a drop, a spike from a place you've never had listeners, most streams from an odd source such as "Other", and a sudden, short-lived jump in new followers. Catch it early and tell your distributor first.

Is it a removal or a normal drop?

Not every fall is Spotify cleaning your numbers. Monthly listeners count people who played you in the last 28 days, so they fall between releases anyway. A removal tends to follow the warning signs Spotify lists: a spike with no clear cause, or from a place or source you can't explain, then a drop. It may come with the message in your dashboard or an email from your distributor. A drop that starts a few weeks after a release or a playlist add, with no strange spike before it, is more likely the normal 28-day roll-off. Our monthly listeners guide shows what normal looks like for artists at this size.

Where this fits

Releasing safely sits in the money stage of artist development, next to the release checklist, and the pillar guide has all five stages. Before your next promotion, read the paid promotion guide's ten-question check, then put the pitch and the promotion record into your release plan.

• Artist development: what it is, what it costs, and how to tell it's working
• Should you pay for music promotion? A decision rule
• Why are my monthly listeners dropping?
• How to get your music heard as an independent artist
• The UK independent release checklist (2026)
• Plan your release back from the date
• Spotify pitch builderfree tool
• The HyperTribe communityartists at your stage, in your city

Questions artists ask