The digital music industry is rife with fraud and manipulation, from AI-generated song scams to playlist payola, all at the expense of real artists who struggle to earn sustainable income from streaming.

• North Carolina man Michael Smith stole $10 million using AI to create fake songs and bots to stream them
• Spotify paid $10 billion in royalties last year, but only 4% of artists earn sustainable income
• Playlist placement is often pay-to-play, with curators charging up to $5,000 monthly
• Major labels own playlist networks that prioritize their own artists
• "Playlist-safe" music is designed for algorithms, not artistic expression
• Global streaming manipulation includes Indian "streaming cafes" and organized fan campaigns
• Matt Farley earned a living creating thousands of novelty songs about bodily functions
• Voice assistants like Alexa inadvertently drive streams for bizarre children's content

Follow Grandpa Is Him for more insights into the strange forces shaping our digital world. Email your music discovery stories to [email protected].

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