Playlisthub does not use bots or purchase fake streams. All traffic generated through real Meta Ads campaigns targets Spotify users via AdSet Targeting. No system is perfect, we already had problems, but our processes are continuously improving.

Playlisthub has evolved into an all-in-one platform for artists, enabling everything from generating Spotify Canvas visuals to launching Meta Ads campaigns in just one click. As the industry has matured, we’ve progressively reduced reliance on traditional playlisting, guiding users toward more controlled, ad-driven growth strategies directly to their tracks or their small artist based playlists - which we believe we are the future of this industry.

Today, we operate as a platform-as-a-service, providing artists with the tools to run their own campaigns while also acting as an intermediary for a curated network of third-party playlists (approximately 500), many of which now run advertising directly through our platform. This shift allows for greater transparency, better performance control, and more sustainable long-term growth from all the learnings we had.

We use multiple layers of monitoring to ensure quality:

In March 2025, we identified irregular activity affecting a small subset of playlists within the network. This was flagged through anomalies in stream geography — specifically, U.S.-based streams appearing despite campaigns being targeted to LATAM. We immediately privatized (if ours) or banned (if third party) the affected playlists while investigating; however, some artists had already been impacted.

We compiled all findings and shared the full dataset with Spotify, including evidence of advertising activity, and opened a direct case to support further evaluation. During our analysis, we observed patterns suggesting that a subset of users may have contributed to irregular activity across certain genre-specific (Hip Hop/Trap) and general style playlists (Top/Hot). These observations were also included in the data shared with Spotify.

Unfortunately, some legitimate users were also impacted, and for that we sincerely apologize for our lack of technical capacity or naivity at that time. We remained fully cooperative throughout — providing refunds and, in some cases, additional compensation, while supporting users to the best of our ability.

It’s important to note that many artists use multiple promotional channels simultaneously, including third-party playlists outside of Playlisthub. As a result, it is not always possible in real time to definitively attribute the source of irregular activity. For this reason, we continuously monitor and analyze signals across both our platform and external sources.

Since August 2025, we have not observed any other issues related to this topic or other topic regarding articial streaming. Any subsequent reports have been linked to the playlists identified during the March 2025 incident, with Spotify notifications issued afterward.

Following this, we made key improvements:

One of our key signals is geographic mismatch:

This indicates the activity is not aligned with expected traffic sources and is flagged for review.

Streams from Brazil and LATAM are expected, as many campaigns across the industry intentionally target these regions due to cost efficiency.

Based on our experience, we have not identified LATAM as a consistent source of artificial streaming. In our specific case and in known cases in the industry, irregular activity originated outside these regions - specially US and Finland, confirmed in the cases we sent to Spotify.
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Example of an Adset targeting LATAM

Artificial activity is an industry-wide issue. No platform can eliminate it completely.

The difference is in response:
We detect early, act fast, and permanently remove bad actors.

Playlist promotion can be safe when traffic sources are transparent and verifiable. At Playlisthub, Meta Ads ensure traffic comes from real paid advertising , targeting Spotify Users based on interests and location. However, no open ecosystem is completely immune to external interference — in practice, it takes very little for bad actors inside those playlists to attempt to manipulate playlist activity, even outside of the platform’s control. This is why monitoring, detection, and traffic transparency are critical to maintaining stream integrity.

One of the clearest indicators is a geographic mismatch. If your campaign targets a specific region, but streams appear in unrelated locations with no organic explanation, this may signal irregular activity.

This is why direct ad traffic is more reliable — you control exactly where your audience comes from.

No system is perfect, but Playlisthub continuously monitors activity to detect and prevent irregular behavior.

Our transition toward ad-based campaigns using personal or track-focused playlists (typically with 5+ tracks from that artist) significantly reduces exposure to third-party risk. This approach minimizes shared playlist environments and limits interaction with external artists, resulting in more controlled, transparent, and reliable traffic.

If suspicious activity is identified, affected playlists are removed and investigated immediately.

At the same time, our long-term approach has been to reduce dependency on playlists altogether, focusing instead on direct traffic through advertising — where performance, audience, and source are fully transparent.

If you notice anything unusual or have questions:

📩 [email protected]

We review every case individually and remain committed to protecting artists on the platform.