inpc on Nostr: "Spotify is also rigging the game by creating fake artists so they can pay less to ...

"Spotify is also rigging the game by creating fake artists so they can pay less to real artists; they do this in collaboration with another parasitic company called Epidemic Sound. Ghost artists have Spotify verified blue badges and fake bios. For instance, the information for a fake producer called Ekfat reads “Ekfat as a classically trained Icelandic beat maker who graduated from the “Reykjavik music conservatory,” joined the “legendary Smekkleysa Lo-Fi Rockers crew” in 2017, and released music only on limited-edition cassettes until 2019. Neither the Reykjavik Music Conservatory, the Smekkleysa Lo-Fi Rockers crew, or these cassettes exist! It would almost be funny if these ghost artists weren’t garnering over fifteen billion streams—that’s more than Metallica, Michael Jackson, and Elton John. This is not to mention the whole issue of Spotify’s manipulation of plays and playlists. Their relationship with major labels is sketchy to say the least! (Reported by Liz Pelly in the book “Mood Machine” 2025) "

Fake Elk business.