News : Spotify Hits Back at Claims of Fake Streams in Ongoing Lawsuit

Spotify has officially responded to the class-action lawsuit accusing the platform of ignoring what’s being described as “mass-scale fraudulent streaming.” In a statement shared with Complex, the company firmly denied any claims that it benefits from artificial streams.

“We cannot comment on pending litigation. However, Spotify in no way benefits from the industry-wide challenge of artificial streaming. We heavily invest in constantly improving, top-tier systems to fight against it and protect artist payments through strong measures like removing fake streams, withholding royalties, and applying penalties,” the company said.

The statement continued, “Our systems are working: In a case from last year, one bad actor was indicted for stealing $10,000,000 from streaming services—only $60,000 of that came from Spotify, proving how effective we are at limiting the impact of artificial streaming on our platform.”

The lawsuit lists rapper RBX as the main plaintiff, both individually and “on behalf of other members of the general public similarly situated.”

It also mentions Drake, accusing him of allegedly earning profits from “billions” of fake streams due to Spotify’s lack of action. The lawsuit claims that Spotify “knows or should know” about substantial evidence showing the Toronto rapper’s catalog benefited from bot activity. Even so, Drake isn’t named as a defendant in the case, and no other artists accused of similar gains are listed. Drake has not made any public comments regarding the claims.

“Every month, under Spotify’s watchful eye, billions of fraudulent streams are generated through fake, illegitimate, or illegal methods,” the lawsuit alleges, adding that these actions cause “massive financial harm to legitimate artists, songwriters, producers, and other rightsholders.”

The plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial and seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. They allege that rights holders have lost “hundreds of millions of dollars” due to Spotify’s alleged involvement.

Meanwhile, Drake is focused on his next album, Iceman, which he’s hinted could arrive sometime in 2025. He’s already released several singles that are expected to appear on the project.