Music Streaming Has a $2 Billion Fraud Issue That Goes Beyond AI

Staring at his computer screen, Kristoffer Rom couldn’t believe the numbers rolling in from Spotify.

A year and a half earlier, in 2018, his independent music label, Tambourhinoceros, had released a languid, synth-pop song, titled Hey Kids, by Molina, a Danish-Chilean singer. The initial reception was modest. But then, months later, it started taking off on TikTok and YouTube as creators embraced the song as a catchy, mood-setting score for all manner of emotive videos and animations.

From there, the momentum spread to Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services. By March 2022, the song was generating more than 100,000 streams per day. “It was amazing ...