Class Action Lawsuit Against Spotify Alleges Fraudulent Streaming
A class action lawsuit has been initiated against Spotify, claiming that the streaming service is ignoring widespread streaming fraud that has significantly inflated the numbers for certain artists, particularly rapper Drake. The suit, filed on Sunday in a California District Court by rapper RBX, contends that Drake’s billions of streams from January 2022 to September 2025 are largely “not genuine” due to a “sprawling network of bot accounts.”
The lawsuit argues that Spotify has “turned a blind eye” to this serious issue of fraudulent streaming, which has reportedly caused considerable economic harm to legitimate artists, songwriters, producers, and rights holders. Spotify’s current royalty model pools revenue from subscriptions and advertisements, distributing it based on each artist’s share of total streams. As a result, one artist’s inflated stream numbers can directly take revenue away from others.
Evidence cited in the lawsuit suggests that a “substantial percentage” of Drake’s approximately 37 billion streams during the specified timeframe may be fraudulent. This includes claims of unusual VPN usage to hide the locations of bot accounts, an unlikely number of streams from sparsely populated regions, a surge in streams for Drake’s songs long after they were released, and a slower decay rate in streams compared to other artists.
One significant claim indicates that fewer than 2 percent of streaming accounts for Drake were responsible for around 15 percent of his total streaming volume, with some accounts reportedly playing his music an astonishing 23 hours a day. This situation has led to Drake amassing more streams than other artists who have larger user bases but significantly fewer total plays.
Although Drake himself is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Spotify is the sole defendant. The complaint alleges that these purportedly fraudulent streams have generated considerable revenue for Drake and his company, ultimately at the expense of other artists. The plaintiff also accuses Spotify of overlooking this fraud, particularly in its free tier, which is more susceptible to manipulation by bots and is crucial for attracting advertisers.
This lawsuit follows the recent dismissal of a separate case filed by Drake against Universal Music Group, which involved similar allegations of streaming fraud inflating the numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” Streaming fraud has become a pressing issue in the industry, with yearly losses estimated between $300 million and $3 billion.
In response, authorities worldwide are taking action, with fraud convictions reported in Denmark and Brazil. There’s also an ongoing investigation into Spotify in Turkey and a major indictment in the U.S. against a North Carolina musician accused of using AI and bots to earn $10 million in royalties.
