Guide
Spotify removed your track for artificial streaming: how to respond
An email from your distributor says Spotify removed a track for artificial streaming activity. You did not buy streams. This is one of the most common and most confusing removals, and the appeal has a specific shape.
Updated October 21, 2026
Short answer
Spotify removes tracks when its systems detect streams it believes were generated by bots or paid services, even when the artist never paid for them, because the detection is based on listening patterns, not on who ordered the streams. The removal and the appeal both run through your distributor. Reply to the distributor with your evidence, ask them to appeal, and stop any playlist promotion you cannot verify while the appeal is open.
What to do, in order
Read the notice carefully
The distributor's email names the track, the reason and usually a window to respond. Note whether only one track was removed or the whole release, and whether the distributor mentions a strike or a fee. Save the email as a PDF.
Gather your evidence
Export the track's audience data from Spotify for Artists: streams by source, by country and by playlist for the period in question. Collect receipts or messages for any promotion you did run, and the names of any playlists you were added to. Honest evidence that shows a plausible source for the spike is what the distributor needs.
Stop unverifiable promotion
If a playlist service, a growth agency or a friend with a bot network was involved without your knowledge, end it now. Spotify treats repeat detections more harshly, and a second flag can affect the whole catalog.
Ask the distributor to appeal
Reply on the same thread. State plainly that you did not purchase streams, attach the evidence, and ask the distributor to submit an appeal to Spotify. Artists cannot appeal to Spotify directly; the distributor is the account holder.
Decide about re-release
If the appeal is denied, you can usually re-release the track through the same distributor, but it returns with a new identifier and zero streams. Ask whether the distributor will keep the ISRC. Do not upload the same recording through a second distributor while the first is still live; duplicate deliveries create new problems.
Why innocent artists get flagged
Spotify's detection looks at how streams arrive, not at who paid for them. A playlist curator who uses bots to inflate their own playlist pushes those streams onto every track in it. A promotion service that promised real listeners may have delivered bots. A sudden spike from one country with almost no saves or follows looks the same to the system either way.
This is why the only reliable protection is to know where your streams come from and to avoid any service that sells placements without naming the playlist or the audience.
What the distributor can and cannot do
The distributor receives the notice, forwards it, submits the appeal and relays the decision. It cannot force Spotify to restore the track, and most distributors will not appeal without evidence because repeated unsuccessful appeals affect their standing. Give them something to work with: the audience export, the promotion receipts and a short, factual account.
Fees and strikes
Spotify has told distributors it may charge them when a track is found to have significant artificial streams, and some distributors pass that cost on to the artist or close accounts after repeated flags. Check your distributor's policy page so you know what a second flag would mean before it happens.
Protecting the next release
Vet every playlist submission: real curators name the playlist, show follower counts and accept no payment for placement. Keep your own promotion records. And watch the catalog so a removal is noticed in minutes rather than weeks, which keeps the appeal window open and the evidence fresh.
How Traxure helps
Traxure confirms a missing track on a second check and emails you the same hour with the before, the after and a ready-to-send note to your distributor asking for the removal reason. It keeps the timeline of what was seen when, which is the first thing a distributor asks for. Monitoring starts with a seven-day free trial.
Questions artists ask
I never paid for streams. Why was my track removed?
Detection is based on how streams arrive, not on who ordered them. A botted playlist, a dishonest promotion service or a spike from a single source can trigger it. Your distributor can appeal with your audience data and promotion records.
Can I appeal to Spotify myself?
No. Spotify handles artificial-streaming removals with the distributor or label that delivered the track. Send your evidence to the distributor and ask them to appeal.
Will the track come back with its streams?
If the appeal succeeds, the track is restored with its original identifiers and history. If you re-release instead, it usually returns with a new identifier and starts from zero.
How do I know if a playlist is safe to pitch?
Real curators name the playlist, show follower counts and never charge for placement. Services that promise a number of streams for a fee are the usual source of artificial activity.
Traxure
Know within minutes, not weeks.
Traxure checks your Spotify catalog around the clock, confirms a change on a second check and tells you what to do next. Seven-day free trial.