The Pitfalls of Music Promotion: Scams, Paywalls, and Shady Promises
Exposing the scams targeting indie musicians—from fake playlists to press placement cons—and sharing tips on sustainable promotion without falling for traps.
By Anton 'Jupiter' Marchenko
By Anton 'Jupiter' Marchenko
Breaking into the music industry as an independent artist is tough. You pour your heart into your music, hoping to reach an audience that truly connects with your sound. But the minute you gain a bit of traction—say, your Spotify streams cross 1,000—you enter a whole new battlefield: the world of predatory music promotion scams.
I've experienced this firsthand. As soon as Mighty Jupiter & The Mooncake Band hit a modest milestone on Spotify, my inbox was flooded with messages from so-called “NME editors,” “A&R agents from London,” and various press placement services promising to catapult my music to the top. Sounds great, right? Except they all had one thing in common: they wanted money upfront for something that ultimately did nothing for the band's progress.
ArtistSpot.io—screwing up-and-coming artists since God knows when
The Con: Fake Credibility & Press Placement Scams
One of the most elaborate scams out there involves companies posing as press agencies or playlist curators that promise exposure in major music outlets. Take ArtistSpot.io, for example.
Their website was plastered with screenshots from Rolling Stone and Fader—but dig deeper, and you'll find those headlines have nothing to do with them. They lure artists in with “guaranteed press placements,” but what they really do is dump your name on sketchy, spam-ridden websites used for black-hat SEO.
By the way, they recently removed the popular press screenshots and rebranded with a more “friendly and trustworthy” approach, featuring video reviews from so-called clients and staged team photos.
However, being the scammers they are, they overlook small details that keep exposing them. Take their social media guy, “Nick,” for example. Sounds legit, right? Not quite. A quick image search reveals that his photo was pulled straight from Unsplash—a stock photo website. This so-called "Nick," an Asian guy in the picture, can be found all over the web, proving he’s just another fabricated persona. The rest of their team is also completely fictional.
One of the most elaborate scams out there involves companies posing as press agencies or playlist curators that promise exposure in major music outlets. Take ArtistSpot.io, for example.
Their website was plastered with screenshots from Rolling Stone and Fader—but dig deeper, and you'll find those headlines have nothing to do with them. They lure artists in with “guaranteed press placements,” but what they really do is dump your name on sketchy, spam-ridden websites used for black-hat SEO.
By the way, they recently removed the popular press screenshots and rebranded with a more “friendly and trustworthy” approach, featuring video reviews from so-called clients and staged team photos.
However, being the scammers they are, they overlook small details that keep exposing them. Take their social media guy, “Nick,” for example. Sounds legit, right? Not quite. A quick image search reveals that his photo was pulled straight from Unsplash—a stock photo website. This so-called "Nick," an Asian guy in the picture, can be found all over the web, proving he’s just another fabricated persona. The rest of their team is also completely fictional.
Another prime example is SkyLockr—a bizarre Frankenstein of a “music DAO, social network, and playlist monetization engine.” It even stole a team photo from a legit French tech company, Algolia, and presented it as their own. How ridiculous is that?
Playlist Paywalls & Shady Tactics
Then there’s the Spotify playlist industry, which is a minefield of its own. A while back, I submitted my track to Daily Playlists, where it got approved for a playlist called Viral Indie run by Viral Charts. Not long after, I got a message from an entity calling itself The Playlist Agency, inviting me to join their “growth club” and “unlock more playlist placements.” Of course, there was a catch: a paid subscription.
To make things even wilder, after I didn’t bite, they removed my track from the playlist—meaning they only added it in the first place to bait me into paying. When I flagged this to Daily Playlists, they confirmed that The Playlist Agency had been repeatedly creating fake playlists to funnel artists into their paid scheme.
Then there’s the Spotify playlist industry, which is a minefield of its own. A while back, I submitted my track to Daily Playlists, where it got approved for a playlist called Viral Indie run by Viral Charts. Not long after, I got a message from an entity calling itself The Playlist Agency, inviting me to join their “growth club” and “unlock more playlist placements.” Of course, there was a catch: a paid subscription.
To make things even wilder, after I didn’t bite, they removed my track from the playlist—meaning they only added it in the first place to bait me into paying. When I flagged this to Daily Playlists, they confirmed that The Playlist Agency had been repeatedly creating fake playlists to funnel artists into their paid scheme.
Big thanks to Daily Playlists for taking down the scammers
How to Sustain Yourself Without Falling for These Traps
Now, when you're DIY, you never know how it will play out. Assembling a list of trustworthy curators and contractors takes trial and error. Once you find those, stick with them; do not experiment, especially if you're pressed for budget. Trying things out too much can backfire. Navigating this messy landscape requires careful consideration and due diligence.
Read the reviews carefully
Some artists can’t distinguish between real and bot traffic—they just see their numbers spike and leave glowing reviews. Focus on those that highlight real issues, especially Spotify release takedowns. If you see multiple reports of this for a provider, consider it a red flag.
Analyze how they position themselves
Pay attention to three key aspects:
If they claim, “We will expose your music to 1 million listeners,” that’s an immediate red flag. Legit promotions never guarantee numbers—they focus on targeting the right audience.
Run a post-check
Even if everything seems fine—your listeners increased and your release wasn’t taken down—don’t assume the traffic is real. Check where it came from. If you see traffic from sketchy websites like timebucks.com or a sudden surge from one specific location, bots were likely involved. These tactics often slip under YouTube's and Spotify’s radars, so just avoid those services in the future.
The other route would be to save up and then hire a more expensive contractor, which most likely would be a reputable agency. However, with today's algorithm-fused content consumption model, you will practically have to put your development as an artist on pause. The reality is you have to release tracks monthly at least not to fly off the radar.
That being said, everything is subjective, and each artist's case is unique. For my band, I decided to go with the tiny-bite-at-a-time approach—at least, short-term. I focus on a batch of certain tracks and platforms—Spotify, by default, and YouTube.
I see it paying off, but I might switch to a more save-up-and-fire-up-all-guns model—we’ll see. This implies hiring someone expensive—a music marketing agency or a label. They charge more than smaller contractors but the results are way more tangible in the end. Again, it depends on the individual case.
Now, when you're DIY, you never know how it will play out. Assembling a list of trustworthy curators and contractors takes trial and error. Once you find those, stick with them; do not experiment, especially if you're pressed for budget. Trying things out too much can backfire. Navigating this messy landscape requires careful consideration and due diligence.
Read the reviews carefully
Some artists can’t distinguish between real and bot traffic—they just see their numbers spike and leave glowing reviews. Focus on those that highlight real issues, especially Spotify release takedowns. If you see multiple reports of this for a provider, consider it a red flag.
Analyze how they position themselves
Pay attention to three key aspects:
- Language: Watch for unnatural phrasing or exaggerated claims.
- Terminology: Outdated terms like AdWords (which Google replaced with Google Ads) indicate they may not be legit.
- Stats: Be wary of vague screenshots showing just a Spotify artist profile instead of real ad analytics.
If they claim, “We will expose your music to 1 million listeners,” that’s an immediate red flag. Legit promotions never guarantee numbers—they focus on targeting the right audience.
Run a post-check
Even if everything seems fine—your listeners increased and your release wasn’t taken down—don’t assume the traffic is real. Check where it came from. If you see traffic from sketchy websites like timebucks.com or a sudden surge from one specific location, bots were likely involved. These tactics often slip under YouTube's and Spotify’s radars, so just avoid those services in the future.
The other route would be to save up and then hire a more expensive contractor, which most likely would be a reputable agency. However, with today's algorithm-fused content consumption model, you will practically have to put your development as an artist on pause. The reality is you have to release tracks monthly at least not to fly off the radar.
That being said, everything is subjective, and each artist's case is unique. For my band, I decided to go with the tiny-bite-at-a-time approach—at least, short-term. I focus on a batch of certain tracks and platforms—Spotify, by default, and YouTube.
I see it paying off, but I might switch to a more save-up-and-fire-up-all-guns model—we’ll see. This implies hiring someone expensive—a music marketing agency or a label. They charge more than smaller contractors but the results are way more tangible in the end. Again, it depends on the individual case.
Why This Matters
These scams don’t just hurt your wallet; they exploit artists’ dreams. They prey on independent musicians who are trying to break through in an industry where organic reach is already a massive challenge.
Internally, I sometimes find myself reminiscing about the MySpace and Last.fm days, but those times are long gone. Today, making listeners notice you takes real money—and it’s far tougher than it was 15 years ago. Not just because you need to earn that money first, but because of the endless pitfalls—scammers, inefficient services, and the fleeting TikTok-viral-song-of-the-season hype.
But if you truly love writing and playing music, you have to get a grip and accept the reality of the modern industry.
Be cautious. Double-check, triple-check everything. The big industry players aren’t in a hurry to crack down on these scams, so it’s up to us musicians to stay sharp and protect ourselves.
These scams don’t just hurt your wallet; they exploit artists’ dreams. They prey on independent musicians who are trying to break through in an industry where organic reach is already a massive challenge.
Internally, I sometimes find myself reminiscing about the MySpace and Last.fm days, but those times are long gone. Today, making listeners notice you takes real money—and it’s far tougher than it was 15 years ago. Not just because you need to earn that money first, but because of the endless pitfalls—scammers, inefficient services, and the fleeting TikTok-viral-song-of-the-season hype.
But if you truly love writing and playing music, you have to get a grip and accept the reality of the modern industry.
Be cautious. Double-check, triple-check everything. The big industry players aren’t in a hurry to crack down on these scams, so it’s up to us musicians to stay sharp and protect ourselves.