Spotify Flagged My Streams — Here’s What I Learned About Building a Real Music Business — Reflection

The world of releasing music is wild right now.

I just got a notice from Spotify claiming I’ve used artificial streams. That hit me like a punch to the gut—especially since I’ve never once paid for bots or anything shady. Everything I’m doing is legit. I’ve been investing in ad spend, massively ramping up my networking, and launching my strongest release campaigns ever.

We’re talking thousands of playlist placements through real relationships. Premier partners. Major YouTube channels. Massive playlists curated by people who actually know me. As one of the first artists on Symphonic Distribution, I’ve built relationships there, and I’m currently waiting to hear back from the owner to understand what happened.

I’ve heard stories of stream takedowns before—but this is the first time it’s happened to me. And now I know exactly how it feels.

All that time. All that money. For what?