How to report a botted playlist on Spotify
Spotify's own route is the playlist reporter in Spotify for Artists, which needs your Spotify for Artists login. Spotify says it then investigates whether the playlist has engaged in artificial streaming before taking action. Find the playlist first: in Spotify for Artists, go to Music, then Playlists.
SOURCE: Spotify Support: Artificial streaming and paid 3rd-party services (report suspicious playlists) · CHECKED 16 October 2026Artificial Streaming Checker runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
What we can and cannot tell you. We cannot see Spotify's data, scan playlists or read your account. Nobody outside Spotify can. The signs below are things you can see yourself. They are reasons to look closer and to report, not proof. Only Spotify decides whether a playlist used artificial streaming.
Step by step
- Open Spotify for Artists and go to Music, then Playlists. Spotify shows the top 100 playlists by your listeners over the last 12 months; a playlist needs at least 3 of your listeners to appear.
- Note any playlist you do not recognise, with how many of your streams it brings and since when. Take screenshots with the dates showing.
- Open each one in Spotify and check it by eye, using the signs below.
- Report the playlists you are worried about through Spotify's playlist reporter. Spotify, TuneCore, CD Baby, LANDR and DistroKid all point artists to this same route.
- If you can reach the curator, ask in writing for your song to be removed, and keep the reply.
- Tell your distributor what you found and share details of any service you hired to promote the music, as Spotify asks.
Signs in your own Spotify for Artists numbers
Spotify lists four kinds of abnormal activity on its artificial streaming page. You can see all four in your own dashboard:
- A sudden spike in streams for no apparent reason, followed by a drop.
- An unexplained spike in streams from a location where your tracks have not been active before.
- Most streams coming from unexplained or surprising sources.
- A sudden, short-lived increase in followers.
Analysts add two ratios: a save rate far below normal, and streams per listener far above it. You can work both out with the Spotify save rate calculator, or type your numbers into the checker above.
Signs on the playlist itself
| Where to look | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Song > Playlists (top playlists in the last 28 days): one playlist you do not know, made by another listener, bringing most of the track's streams. | Judgement call. We flag it when one unfamiliar playlist brings about half or more of a track's streams. A real playlist can do this too, so check who runs it and how you got on it. |
| Source of streams (Segmentation > Source of streams): the share of streams from "Other listeners' playlists" compared with your profile, listeners' own libraries and Spotify playlists. | Judgement call. We flag it when "Other listeners' playlists" is well over half of streams and active sources (profile, own library, queue) are a small slice. Spotify has no category called "Other"; this is the closest one. |
| Open the playlist on Spotify: compare its follower count with the play counts of the other songs on it, and look at the curator's profile. | Judgement call. We flag it when you answer yes to two or more: big follower count but low plays for other songs, mixed genres with no theme, a robotic description, a curator you cannot contact. You make this check by eye; we do not read playlists. |
What these signs cannot tell you
- Spotify does not publish how it detects artificial streams, so no list of signs matches its system.
- A real playlist can bring most of a song's streams. Many listeners finding you once looks the same as a bot playing you once.
- Spotify says some confirmed artificial streams are removed before your dashboard refreshes, while in other cases the spikes stay visible in Spotify for Artists even though public numbers are corrected. Your dashboard and your distributor's report can disagree.
- Reporting a playlist asks Spotify to look. Spotify's article does not say whether it tells you the outcome.
What to do next
- Do not buy streams or engagement to make up for it. TuneCore warns this can tie more artificial activity to your music.
- Stop any campaign that promised streams, followers or placements.
- Keep your evidence in one folder: the checklist in the tool above can be ticked off, copied or printed.
- If your distributor already sent a notice, open its guide: DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, Amuse, UnitedMasters, Ditto Music, Symphonic, LANDR, Too Lost.
- If a release disappeared without a notice, read DistroKid removed my music (October 2026) for the other reasons a release can go.
Questions artists ask
Where is the report button for a Spotify playlist?
Artists report through the playlist reporter in Spotify for Artists, which needs your login. It is linked from Spotify's own support article on artificial streaming.
How do I know if a playlist is botted?
You cannot know for sure from outside Spotify. Signs worth a closer look: one playlist you do not know bringing most of your streams, a big follower count while other songs barely move, mixed genres with no theme, and a curator you cannot contact.
Will reporting a playlist get my own song flagged?
Spotify's article does not say that reporting affects your own tracks. It says Spotify investigates the playlist before it takes action. Keep a dated screenshot of what you reported.
Is there a free tool that checks if a playlist is botted?
No outside tool can see Spotify's listening data, so any checker is reading public numbers, as you can. Use the signs on this page and report through Spotify's own route.
Should I tell my distributor?
Yes. Spotify asks artists who see abnormal activity to inform their label or distributor and share details of any services they hired to promote the music.
Related
- Artificial streaming checker: your Spotify numbers, notice and fee
Got an artificial streaming notice? Check your Spotify for Artists numbers, estimate the €10 per track fee, and see what your distributor says to do. - DistroKid removed my music (October 2026): what to check
DistroKid removed your release? The three reasons a song disappears, what DistroKid and the press have said since UMG's lawsuit, and a support message. - 'Artificial streaming detected': what the DistroKid notice means and what to do
Got an artificial streaming notice from DistroKid? What it means, DistroKid's re-upload with the same ISRC step, the reported fee, and a reply email. - 'Artificial streaming detected': what the TuneCore email means and what to do
TuneCore artificial streaming notice or fee? Warning, fee or takedown, the €10 per track per month charge it passes on, the appeal path and a reply email. - 'Artificial streaming fee' on CD Baby: what it means and what to do
A Spotify artificial streaming fee on CD Baby? About $10 to $11 per track per month, why the whole release can come down, strikes, and next steps. - Spotify save rate calculator: what a good save rate is, from your own numbers
Free Spotify save rate calculator: saves per listener and per stream, streams per listener and the 1,000-stream rule, with dated, sourced benchmarks.
Sources
- Spotify Support: Artificial streaming and paid 3rd-party services (report suspicious playlists) · checked 16 October 2026
- Spotify for Artists: Artificial streaming (artificial streaming in your data) · checked 16 October 2026
- Spotify Support: Seeing playlists you're added to · checked 16 October 2026
- Spotify Support: Spotify for Artists data and artificial streaming · checked 16 October 2026
- TuneCore Help: What is Artificial Streaming/Streaming Fraud? (updated 14 Oct 2026) · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid Help: I Received an "Artificial Streaming" Notice from Spotify. What Should I Do? · checked 16 October 2026
- Spotify for Artists: Artificial streaming (warning signs) · checked 15 October 2026
- LANDR blog: Is my music in a bot playlist? · checked 15 October 2026 · third-party source
- CD Baby DIY Musician: 5 tips to avoid fake Spotify playlists and artificial streaming · checked 15 October 2026 · third-party source
- Spotify Support: Source of streams · checked 15 October 2026
- Hypebot (30 Oct 2020): How to know if your Spotify account has been botted · checked 15 October 2026 · third-party source
- Spotify for Artists: Artificial streaming · checked 15 October 2026
Found something out of date? Email info@groovegainer.com and we fix it, usually the same week. How we check our sources.