{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Spotify Is Riddled With Fake Streams \u2014 Or Is It?","description":"After a string of 'fake stream' scandals involving mega-stars like French Montana and G-Eazy, a serious question percolated within the music industry: how real are Spotify's stream counts? Vice went underground and found a shadowy network of 'underground stream farms' that fabricate play counts, raising serious questions about Spotify's numbers. Michael K. Williams, who led Vice's investigation, declared that the &quot;entire industry has been compromised.&quot; But how corrupted are streaming numbers at Spotify -- or Apple Music, Amazon Music, or YouTube? We asked a company that has developed a sophisticated method for verifying stream counts by identifying statistical anomalies. Their CEO offered an entirely different version of what's happening with stream counts on major platforms like Spotify. ","author_name":"The Digital Music News Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmusicnews.com\/category\/podcasts\/","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/24526215\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/24526215"}