5 Music Promotion Red Flags: Avoid Bot Farms & Spotify Bans

Look, we’ve all seen the DMs. “Hey, I love your sound! For $50, I can get you 100k streams on my network.”

It’s tempting. When you’ve poured your soul (and your budget) into a track, seeing those numbers climb feels like progress. But in 2026, the “fake it ’til you make it” strategy is a trap. Spotify has moved past simple bot detection; they’re now issuing automatic $10 fines per track for “artificial streaming” and nuking profiles without warning.

As a platform that actually gives a damn about music, we want to see you succeed—not get banned. Here are 5 red flags that mean a “promotion deal” is actually a death sentence for your artist’s career.

1. They’re Selling “Numbers,” Not Reach

If a service offers a “Silver Package” for exactly 10,000 streams, run. Real human beings are unpredictable. You can’t predict exactly how many people will click “play” or how many will skip. A legitimate campaign focuses on placements, PR, and impressions. Anyone promising a fixed number of plays is just renting out a server rack in a basement.

2. The “Everything” Playlist

Check the playlists they’re offering. If you see a 400-song list that features underground Drill, 90s Country, and Lo-fi beats all in one place, it’s a bot farm.

• The Trap: These lists have thousands of “followers,” but if you look at the artists on them, their “Monthly Listeners” usually drop to zero the second they’re removed.

• The Damage: When a bot plays your song for 31 seconds and moves on, it tells Spotify’s algorithm that your music is “low quality,” killing your chances of ever hitting Discover Weekly.

3. The “Ghost Town” Growth

Open your Spotify for Artists dashboard. If 90% of your new streams are coming from one random city—like Buffalo, NY or Helsinki—and you have zero social media engagement in those areas, you’re being botted.

Real growth is messy. It should come from a mix of cities, shared playlists, and “Radio.” If your data looks too perfect, it’s fake.

4. Zero “Human” Presence

Try to find the person behind the agency. Do they have a LinkedIn? Are they featured in any industry publications? Or is it just a faceless website with a “Contact Us” form that goes to a void?

Shady services hide because they have to change their URLs every few months to stay ahead of lawsuits and bans. If they won’t put a face or a name to their results, don’t give them your credit card.

5. They Don’t Care About Your Genre

A real promoter will ask: “Who does this artist sound like? What’s the vibe?” If a service says they can “promote any song to 1 million people” without even hearing the track first, they aren’t promoters. They’re just data-pushers. Putting your music in front of the wrong audience is actually worse than not promoting it at all, because the “Skip Rate” will ruin your profile’s reputation with the algorithm.

Keep Your Career Safe

At Artistrack, we hate seeing good artists get burned. We don’t deal in bots, farms, or “guaranteed” spikes. We focus on getting your music in front of real curators, real bloggers, and real listeners.

It takes longer to build an organic audience, but those fans are the ones who actually buy tickets and merch. Don’t risk a permanent ban for a temporary ego boost.

Want a second opinion on a promotion deal you’re looking at? Drop us a message or [check out our transparent promotion options here]. We’re here to help you grow, not just glow.