Chartmob.net & The Dangerous New Way Playlisting Scams Are Targeting Artists + What It Expose About Efforts to Curb Streaming Fraud

What Is Chartmob.net?

Chartmob.net could be the most dangerous playlisting scheme I’ve ever seen. Normally, artists get solicitations for streaming scams in Instagram DMs and comments on posts that say things like "hot track, promote it on ’scam playlist USA" or something like that. An artist has to take the initiative of using the service. In the case of Chartmob, that pesky layer of friction called consent is thrown out the window. Chartmob thinks the best way to incentivize artists to use its service is to give them a taste by giving them free promotions they didn’t ask for. I discovered the service by checking the Spotify for Artists stats of an artist I work with where I saw a huge burst in streams.

Wondering what the source could be, I investigated and identified Chartmob as the source. It wasn’t hard to tell what they were about with a playlist called "Chartmob.net - Chart Promotion" so I clicked the link in Spotify for Artists to check the playlist where I found the link to their marketing "service". Before we get to their service, look at what I saw with their playlist. 

In case you didn’t notice, it’s a list of 9,999 songs. All the songs were added on the same day. What human has the time to playlist 9,999 songs? What human is streaming a playlist with 9,999 songs? Chartmob is suss as hell. It would be great if that were all there was to it but it doesn’t end there. Their marketing strategy is to add artist’s music to their playlist promotion as a form of promotion. They pump artists’ numbers in the hopes that they will notice, see value in their service, and pay for it. The boost only lasts for a single day which also lends to the idea of it all being a fraud because after such explosive growth, there should be at least a little long-term lift. Streaming fraud is nothing new, involving unsuspecting artists in streaming fraud schemes who have no idea their music is even on the playlist is another thing entirely. 

Punishment for Streaming Fraud

Music distributors like Tunecore, Distrokid, and Ditto punish artists for engaging in streaming fraud. Artists get their royalties confiscated, their music removed, their accounts closed, and they are banned from using the distribution service after they’ve paid the annual fee. They get no refund because the terms grant distributors the right to take this action. The assumption is that artists are intentionally engaging in streaming fraud or are complicit in it. Either you’re using bots, knowingly signed up for a service that drives fake streams using bots, or failed to do your due diligence before using a service that drives fake streams using bots. In any event, it’s your fault and you deserve to be punished. Too Lost distribution requires your State ID to thwart streaming fraud which, again, assumes it’s intentional. In the sense of Too Lost, there’s the possibility of facing far worse consequences than getting music removed because they could pass an artist’s identifying information over to Spotify which can be used to take legal action against them. 

Distributor Flaws in Tackling Streaming Fraud 

Distributors are placing all of the blame for streaming fraud on artists. While artists get punished, the companies driving the fraud are left to continue doing business and damage the careers of more artists. There’s been a proliferation of "educational" material teaching artists how to avoid streaming fraud, but none of the material considers the possibility of what’s happening with Chartmob. What we see with Chartmob.net adding the music of artists to what looks like a system for streaming fraud, is that artists aren’t always to blame. Sometimes, it’s something they have zero control over. A tool like Amuse’s "Stream Check" which informs artists of tracks that are flagged for streaming fraud but requires them to address it by requesting their music be removed from the problem playlist isn’t helpful. A company can ignore emails. It’s not in an artist’s power to force a Spotify account to remove their music from anything. That is on the distributor and Spotify. Unfortunately, these entities find it easier to go after artists which makes the tactic of Chartmob extremely dangerous and the policies of distribution companies extremely flawed. What’s happening with Chartmob is almost like someone wearing a mask of your face and robbing liquor stores. You get arrested and go to jail, they flee scot-free and pee pee on the steps.