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Spotify removes 500,000 fake plays from Malcolm Todd song after chart surge

Spotify removes 500,000 fake plays from Malcolm Todd song after chart surge

Spotify corrected its U.S. chart after detecting artificial streams in Malcolm Todd’s “Earrings,” while Kalshi investigates a market it had already settled using the inflated data.

Fact Check
The Bloomberg article—the originating source explicitly cited in the claim—confirms Spotify removed over 500,000 artificial streams from a Malcolm Todd song and that the inflated figures had already been used to settle a Kalshi market. CBS News and Hollywood Reporter independently corroborate the removal of ~500,000 streams from the song 'Earrings,' the ~70% chart surge to No. 1, the link to Kalshi betting manipulation, and Spotify's refusal to pay royalties. All specific elements of the claim are supported.
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Summary

Spotify removed roughly 500,000 artificial streams from Malcolm Todd’s “Earrings” after the song’s jump to No. 1 on its daily U.S. chart triggered scrutiny from traders who track the data for prediction markets. The track fell to fourth place after the fake plays were stripped out, and Spotify said it will add extra checks before publishing chart data. The manipulated surge was linked to betting activity around Kalshi’s market for June’s most-streamed U.S. song on Spotify, which drew about $3 million in trading and had already been paid out before the chart was corrected. Spotify also asked Kalshi and Polymarket to remove its logo and clarify there was no partnership with either platform. The episode has renewed questions about whether chart-based prediction contracts are vulnerable to manipulation, especially when markets rely on a single data feed that can be distorted by bot-driven activity.

Terms & Concepts
  • prediction markets: Platforms where users trade or bet on the outcome of future events.
  • artificial streams: Bot-driven or otherwise fraudulent plays used to inflate a song’s listening numbers.
  • single data feed: One source of information used to settle a market, which can create risk if that source is manipulated or later corrected.