We’re in an era where lots of musicians purchase a high number of streams and views just to prove their worth to their prospective fans and industry peers.
These can be harmful if done wrongly because aside paid advertising (Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads) and Influencer Marketing some other block hat techniques of getting streams can end up hurting your brand and getting your profile suspending by DSP’s (Digital Streaming Platforms).
From experience, I gathered a couple of pointers that could help an artist spot out these fake streaming service providers.
TIP 1
If the company does not listen to your song or give you any feedback on the song at all, it’s probably a bad company or a shady, fake-stream service.
When someone is working your music, they need to believe that the music will fit in somewhere and ready to vouch for it. Otherwise, it’s utterly pointless for everyone. No publicist or playlist pitcher wants to ruin their reputation by pitching bad music. Any legitimate company will listen to your music first and give you feedback about where they think it fits.
TIP 2
If the company tells you they can deliver a specific amount of plays or followers within a certain amount of time, it’s PROBABLY not legit.
No company that is pitching to playlist curators can promise this. There are no guarantees curators will like your song or find a place for it in their playlists. Same way companies offering music marketing can’t guarantee, because results are given based on probable estimates and not exact numbers. Only advanced digital marketers can do this by negotiating on possible CPM so be careful of any company that offers hard and fast promises like millions of streams in days because they either won’t deliver fake results.
TIP 3
If the company says their service is “organic” rather than explaining how it’s done, it’s PROBABLY not legit.
This one is very simple and relatively obvious, if a company is going to work on your song legitimately; there will be no need to say that the service is “organic” without explaining how the process is done. No, you’re not asking for their marketing secrets, just the basics. It’s your profile and career so don’t be left in the dark, ask them how they plan on achieving your goal.
TIP 4
If the company has a checkout page that allows you to select how many plays your song will get, it is PROBABLY not legit.
These said companies create e-commerce websites using WordPress or Shopify, giving you the ability to shop for the streams and choosing a number of streams before checking out, they’re mostly run by SMM panels and are bot streams, be sure to make proper inquiries before jumping on this. There is just no way to know if the company is not using bots. Do not fall for it.
As frustrating as it may be, to get organic streams, you need to build a social following, do proper paid marketing, and/or get on good playlists in a legitimate way. You are much better of having a few real fans than having thousands of fake ones.
You wouldn’t want fake friends, right? So, why have fake fans? Choose wisely.
By Kwao Lezzes-Tyt|3news.com|Ghana
The writer is a Digital Marketing Strategist, a publicist and an artiste manager