Quick Answer
If Spotify or Apple detects artificial or manipulated streams on your release, they may apply a penalty or adjustment. These will appear as negative line items in your transaction reporting.
How Spotify penalties work
When Spotify flags artificial streaming:
- The artificial streams are removed from royalty calculations.
- Spotify applies a flat penalty fee per impacted track per month.
- This fee is approximately $10–$11 per track (amount may vary slightly by currency).
- The fee is passed through to your account as a negative transaction.
How Apple adjustments work
When Apple flags artificial or manipulated streams:
- Apple applies a negative earnings adjustment.
- The adjustment reduces the earnings associated with the flagged streams.
- Apple applies a percentage-based reduction tied to affected earnings.
How penalties and adjustments appear
- You’ll see a negative transaction listed in Sales & Accounting > Transaction Reporting.
- Apple does not provide detailed per-stream calculation breakdowns in reporting. The amount shown is the finalized adjustment provided by Apple.
Why did I receive one of these penalties?
Penalties are applied when a platform detects activity that violates its artificial streaming policies. This does not always mean intentional misconduct. This can include:
- Bot-driven streams
- Automated playback
- “Guaranteed streams” or pay-for-playlist services
- Manipulated or incentivized listening
Streaming platforms monitor for this activity and may remove streams, adjust earnings, or apply penalties.
Can these penalties be reversed?
We cannot reverse Spotify or Apple’s determinations.
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