Tag: scams

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This Week In Music (August 19, 2022)

Music News

From audio reactions on Spotify to the latest streaming scam, we’ve gathered the need-to-know music news of the week.

Welcome to the thirty-third Friday of 2022. We are over 3/5 of the way through the year for those keeping count. While kids head back to school and temperatures begin to cool, the music industry is preparing for an incredibly busy fall release and tour season. We feel for you if you’ve got dates or records to promote. It’s a warzone out there, but still—we wouldn’t do anything else.

We’re working hard on exciting new developments for Haulix that will be revealed in the coming weeks. These changes completely rethink our business and how we can help the music community connect. You probably have a lot of questions, but that’s all we can say for now.

We cannot ease your workload or give you more hours in the day, but we can help you stay informed. Below you’ll find the biggest stories of the week, all covered by the best outlets in tech and entertainment. Click around, learn what’s happening, and use the weekend to prepare for the end of the month.

But let’s be honest. There is no way we can hope to cover everything that happens. If you see a headline we missed that people need to know, please do not hesitate to send james@haulix.com an email. We’ll include your links in the next update.

The Biggest Music News Stories Of The Week

Spotify Testing Audio Reaction In Vietnam

Swedish music streaming platform Spotify is working on a new feature to let users post audio comments or reactions to music playlists.

A Reddit user in Vietnam first spotted this Spotify experiment, reports The Verge.

“So what do you think? Record an episode to share your thoughts on the playlist,” read the interface.

Below the notification is a record button to start the audio recording.

There are also some simple editing options like being able to add background music and tags.

The reaction feature seems to be accessible via a microphone icon on the playlist’s page, the report noted.

“We are currently running a limited test of in-app audio creation, but have no further details to share at this time,” the company was quoted as saying.

Audiomack Introduces ‘Premier Access’ For Fans

Artist-first music streaming and discovery platform Audiomack announced the debut of Premiere Access, a industry-leading feature that allows artists to reward their biggest fans by making a unreleased projects available on Audiomack before the general release.

“Artists deserve the most powerful tools possible to build their work into financially thriving enterprises,” Audiomack VP of Product Charlie Kaplan said. “Music companies have the opportunity and obligation to enable creators to explore diverse means of monetization and help realize their work’s financial potential.”

For musicians on Audiomack, Premiere Access offers a brand-new revenue stream that goes beyond standard streaming. Now that they are signed up for the Audiomack Monetization Program (AMP), artists can upload their work to Audiomack, use the Premiere Access function, and choose the duration of exclusivity for their release’s backers.

Bad Bunny Tops 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards Finalists

Puerto Rican hitmaker Bad Bunny leads the list of finalists for the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, with a staggering 23 nods across 13 categories. (The only other artist to ever score that many is Ozuna in 2019.)

Bad Bunny is up for artist of the year, tour of the year, Hot Latin Songs artist of the year, male, and top Latin album of the year for his chart-topping album Un Verano Sin Ti, which is back at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart this week for an eighth nonconsecutive frame on top.

Following Bad Bunny is Colombian star Karol G with 15 entries in 11 categories, a record number of nods for a female artist. (The old record was held jointly by Jenni Rivera, who had 12 nods in 2014, and Shakira, who had 12 in 2018.) Karol G’s categories include artist of the year and Hot Latin Songs artist of the year, female, as well as Hot Latin Song of the year, vocal event, for her Becky G collab “MAMIII.”

Artists Are Manipulating Metadata To Game Spotify’s Algorithms

What if tagging the wrong artist pages was not just a headache to resolve but also a money-making scheme?

What if obscure artists were profiting by purposely tagging big-name artists as primary collaborators, thus reaching said artists’ fanbases via algorithmic music delivery systems like Spotify’s Release Radar?

This is the story of an artist/record label, variously known as Diversify and Variegate.

SONG OF THE WEEK: Chuggaboom – “Should Have Been”

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BEWARE! New Scam Targets Independent Musicians On Spotify

A group of deceptive independent musicians recently uncovered a secret way to game one of Spotify’s most popular playlists for new music discovery.

We make a lot of content about scams in the music industry, and for a good reason. Nothing infuriates more than people taking advantage of dreamers for selfish personal gain. People shouldn’t be afraid to trust others with their aspirations, especially on Spotify of all places, but such is the world we live in.

Billboard recently reported on a new scam involving independent artists who leverage the following of other independent musicians for personal gain. These performers upload songs to Spotify with other, larger artists tagged as featured on the music. That tag gets the attention of Spotify’s algorithm, which then takes the material and distributes it to the release radar of people who follow or frequently listen to the more popular artist (who—to be clear—is not actually on the track in question).

When fans realize they’ve been lied to, the artist perpetuating the myth has already earned another stream for their song. Multiply that by hundreds if not thousands of incidents, and deceptive musicians could easily see a sizable boost in their streaming revenue through continual use of this tactic.

There’s a related problem that also needs addressing. Major label artists do not have to worry about similar scams being attempted with their likeness. As Music Biz host James Shotwell details in his latest video, Spotify has a manual review process to ensure the top of the charts cannot be fooled by deceptive business practices. That forces us to ask: Why don’t independent artists get the same treatment?

No views Aug 18, 2022 Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.

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We Tried A Cheap Promo Service So You Won’t [VIDEO]

Zire is one of many new services advertising cheap music promotion on social media, but are their claims too good to be true? We found out.

Every musician knows the experience of swiping through stories on Instagram and seeing advertisements for services they’ve never heard of promising impossible things. Some offer to ‘unlock’ an artist’s true potential with a course or livestream event. Others promise to help “maximize” reach or “get guaranteed” exposure in exchange for a small amount of money.

If you’re anything like us, then these advertisements are probably met with an eye-roll. You feel your gut warning you to keep scrolling because the claims in the ad seem too good to be true. After all, if meaningful success costs less than $100, wouldn’t everyone do it?

Sometimes things are different. Sometimes you stare at the ads and its slick animation, wondering if maybe the reason you haven’t heard of this service is because nobody you know has tried it yet. Perhaps you even tell yourself that the promises being made aren’t unrealistic. Maybe these companies do have all the answers, and you’re the only one whose thought to give them a try!

You should always trust your gut. If your instincts are telling you that something is too good to be true or someone is offering something you know cannot be delivered for next to nothing, then you are a fool to consider otherwise.

But on the off chance you’re still considering these companies, we went ahead and spent money for you. We found Zire, one of many companies promising cheap promotion on multiple high-profile websites and apps for a small amount of money, and we bought a one-week campaign. We partnered with the band You, Me, And Everyone We Know to see what would happen when their single, “F.I.N.E.,” was promoted on the service. The results are not shocking, but they are worth discussing.

In this Music Biz update, host James Shotwell walks through the Zire platform. He showcases the site’s slick animations, automated ad creation, and seemingly in-depth analytics. He also compares the result of a $40 promotion to the typical engagement You, Me, And Everyone We Know sees on their Spotify profile. Check it out:

Some highlights:

  • To their credit, Zire’s creation process is simple. Artists find a song, upload photos, connect social accounts, and set parameters for their ad.
  • Our one-week, $40 campaign included ads on Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Genius, Ultimate Classic Rock, and more.
  • Despite asking users to upload photos, Zire auto-generates dozens of ads using stock images that users have no choice in using. These images didn’t reflect the look or sound of the band.
  • The most impressions our ad received was on a website that has not been updated for over a year. Worse, the site had nothing to do with the style of music the band plays.
  • According to Zire, our one-week campaign generated over 27,000 impressions. Of those, less than 600 clicked through to a streaming service.
  • Based on Zire’s audience insight, most of our impressions were from advertisements shown to people ages 45-55, which is much higher than the band’s target demographic. Zire does not allow users to set age parameters during the ad creation process.
  • Ads were shown to people worldwide, including countries where the band has no footprint or any ability to visit in the foreseeable.
  • Compared to previous weeks, You, Me, And Everyone We Know saw no measurable change in consumption or followers.
  • Of the roughly 550 Spotify plays that the Zire ad potentially made possible, the band generated $2.20 in revenue.

In summary:

We spent $40 to make roughly $2.20 with ads that cast the widest net possible. Zire’s insights tell us there were nearly 30,000 impressions, but only about 600 got people to visit a streaming service. We have no way of knowing if those individuals actually listened to the band.

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.

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Exposing The Biggest Scams In Music Today [Video]

Scam artists continue to profit off the dreams of musicians caught in the struggle, but we have three tips that will make you more successful than their schemes ever could.

Scam artists will always exist in every facet of any business. That is because dreamers aspire to reach their goals, and enough of them are willing to pay for so-called experts to advise them that con artists can continue making money. After all, who wouldn’t want to be an overnight success?

There is a dark side to the world of self help and advice that rarely gets acknowledged. While many people do legitimately want to see artists succeed, there are many more who see aspiring stars are targets for their money-making schemes. As the saying goes, “If you want to make money in music, exploit the dreams of musicians.”

We’ve all seen these scams online. You probably see ads for playlist placements, music mentorships, and “direct access” to A&R reps on a regularly on social media. You may even consider looking into these services. The lucky ones don’t let their curiosity lead to spending money, but not everyone is that fortunate. A lot of artists spend money on these people and companies making impossible promises on the off chance they might be legit, and every single time, the artist ends up losing money without advancing their career.

The reason these scams never work out is because they ignore the three rules of music success:

  • Make great content
  • Network with your peers
  • Be a decent human being

Anyone promising mentorships in exchange for annual fees or placement in front of prominent tastemakers for a one-time charge are lying about the essential building blocks of any career. The musicians that are big right now, whether they’re bonafide celebrities or someone who seems to appear overnight, got where they are through hard work, networking, and being someone people enjoy knowing. Those three things are the cornerstone to any legitimate career in this, or any other, field.

That doesn’t mean that all scammers are bad people. Some do offer interesting advice in a very broad sense. They’ll talk about the need to hustle hard, believe in yourself, and consistently release new content to keep people engaged, all of which are good. But that kind of vague motivational fodder will only get you so far in this business.

For more insight on con artists and how to spot them, check out this video our friend Jesse Cannon made on the scammer you’re most likely to find in music.

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Spotify Playlists Scams and How To Avoid Them [Video]

The most prevalent ads for musicians on social media promise guaranteed placement on hugely influential playlists for a small amount of money. But how do you know when an offer is too good to be true?

Anyone working in music will recognize this scene: You’re scrolling through social media on your phone when you see an advertisement for a company you don’t know claiming that they can get you onto influential Spotify playlists. These ads often feature an image of one or more playlists, such as the wildly popular Rap Caviar. These companies typically charge a fixed rate for this life-changing opportunity, and it’s often less than the price you pay for rent in any American city. It’s the kind of thing that sounds too good to be true, and that’s because — by and large — it’s a lie.

Selling people on the idea of achieving their wildest dreams is nothing new, but in the age of social media and targeted marketing, snake oil salesman are more cunning than ever. Facebook and Instagram offer a robust set of tools for advertisers to market their products and services to the people most likely to click on their messaging. That makes it incredibly easy to find desperate people willing to take a chance on false promises of significant returns being real. After all, who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity appear on a playlist with millions of followers? That’s a feat very few artists ever accomplish!

The simple truth is that if such services were real, then everyone in music would use them. If that were the case, then every significant playlist would be flooded with talent that no one knows to promote songs nobody has heard. But anyone with Spotify can tell you that is not the case. None of the company-curated playlists can be hacked through third-party promotion services. Nobody can buy their way onto these playlists, especially not someone from a company you and your music friends have never heard of that is run by people you can’t find or chat with over the phone. That’s not how the music business works.

In the latest episode of Music Biz, host James Shotwell breaks down the truth about playlist placement services, where they come from, and how anyone can easily spot scams from a mile away. His words will save you untold amounts of money, which you can then use to pay for a proper PR or marketing team that cares about your work. Check it out:

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution company. Join today and gain immediate access to the same promo tools used by Bruce Springsteen, Slipknot, Jason Isbell, and thousands more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup to start your free trial.

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