"Streaming Farms"

Spotify is ripping off artists. What goes around comes around. It was only a question of time until Spotify got ripped off themselves. Big time. This is how it works. First you buy the music catalogue of an obscure artist. Then you play the songs on repeat on hundreds of computers and cellphones. This is known as "Streaming Farms" and gives the concept of passive listening a new and deeper meaning. This way you can earn money. Spotify pays between $0.003-$0.005 per stream on average. To generate any money and make it worthwhile the scale must be enormous. Spotify didn't want to talk about fake streams before. They downplayed the problem, claiming fake streams was less than 1 percent. Now Spotify has woken up and as a new deterrent, beginning early next year they "will start charging labels and distributors per track when flagrant artificial streaming is detected on their content. This new deterrent follows improved artificial streaming detection technology we rolled out earlier this year, as well as the establishment of the newly formed Music Fights Fraud Alliance." The alliance take pathetic oratory to a whole new level: "Music Fights Fraud is a global task force aimed at eradicating streaming fraud. We represent, for the first time, all corners of the music industry aligning as a united front to combat fraud in music streaming. Our mission is to ensure that the global music streaming market is fair and that all members actively contribute to solutions intended to balance the equity of its operations. As an alliance, our members hope to detect, prevent, mitigate, and enforce anti-fraud measures, thereby moving closer to an industry where fraud has no place." Spotify cries crocodile tears. "We believe this will meaningfully deter labels and distributors from continuing to distribute the music of known bad actors that attempt to divert money from honest, hardworking artists." But, who is the real swindler here? The one who pays between $0.003-$0.005 per stream or the farmers?