IFPI has launched the Streaming Integrity Initiative (SII), a new industry commitment to combat streaming fraud.
SII establishes a set of baseline practices for industry players to help prevent, detect and respond to streaming fraud in order to protect artists, songwriters and fans from its harm.
“Streaming fraud involves the manipulation of digital music services to generate revenue from plays that are not genuine,” said an IFPI statement. “It is often happening at scale, undermining trust in streaming services and siphoning revenues away from the artists, songwriters, record labels, music publishers and others who power the music economy.”
The rise of generative AI has heightened the concerns about streaming fraud with Deezer reporting earlier this year that is ingesting almost 75,000 AI-generated tracks per day, representing roughly 44% of the daily uploads.
With AI-powered tools becoming more widely available, IFPI said that robust fraud prevention and detection measures, and coordinated action across the music ecosystem, are “more important than ever”.
Major music companies and independents are joining IFPI in support of the new initiative, including: Absolute Label Services, ADA, AWAL, CD Baby, CmdShft, Ditto Music, Fuga, GoDigital, Hybe, Idol, IMPALA, InnerCat Music Group, Merlin, Redeye, Revelator, RouteNote, Secretly Distribution, Symphonic, Sony Music Group, The Orchard, Too Lost, Universal Music Group, Virgin Music Group and Warner Music Group.
It follows the combined effort by majors and indies in the summer to set out global principles covering AI and chart eligibility.
Streaming fraud misleads fans and deprives legitimate artists and songwriters of income that should rightfully flow to them
Victoria Oakley
Recognising the key role music distribution services play as a gateway to the digital music ecosystem and their unique ability to prevent fraudulent content from reaching streaming platforms, SII establishes a common baseline for industry action through five key commitments.
Participating distributors commit to:
• Verify rights ownership and customer identities through robust rights verification and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes
• Vet content using effective tools and processes to identify infringement, fraudulent activity and AI-related risks
• Act by detecting, investigating and mitigating suspected fraud, including acting against repeat offenders
• Share intelligence, where legally permissible, to help prevent bad actors from moving across services and platforms
• Measure and continuously strengthen anti-fraud systems to address evolving threats
“These commitments are designed to strengthen prevention, improve detection, support enforcement action and increase collaboration across the industry,” added the statement.
The new initiative builds on the wider End Streaming Fraud campaign, launched by IFPI and music companies to raise awareness of the growing threat that streaming fraud poses across the music ecosystem.
The organisations behind the initiative are calling on distributors, digital service providers, industry bodies and other stakeholders to support SII and help strengthen the industry's collective response to streaming fraud.
More information about the campaign, including the signatories, can be found at: www.endstreamingfraud.com.
Victoria Oakley, CEO, IFPI, said: "Streaming fraud misleads fans and deprives legitimate artists and songwriters of income that should rightfully flow to them. This is theft, plain and simple.
“We welcome the leadership shown by the first distributors to publicly support the Streaming Integrity Initiative, and hope this leads to direct, effective and coordinated action to protect artists, songwriters and fans from streaming fraud.”
Sarah McNabb, Merlin’s director of content Integrity, said: “Tackling illegitimate activity effectively requires every part of the industry to move together. These commitments reflect Merlin's own position and align closely with what Merlin already requires of its members. It's encouraging to see so many of our members already putting their names to this announcement, and we're glad to stand alongside IFPI in this initiative as it continues to grow."
Tackling illegitimate activity effectively requires every part of the industry to move together
Sarah McNabb
Helen Smith, IMPALA executive chair, said: “IMPALA’s Digital Music Plan adopted earlier this year set out our recommendations for growing the market and identified industry collaboration on a new scale as a top priority.
“With recommendations for DSPs and labels as well as distributors, working together on integrity, promoting human artistry and other key aspects across the whole chain is vital.”
Welcoming the streaming integrity Initiative, Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI chief executive, said: “Streaming fraud is one of the key economic issues facing our industry, and the longer it goes unchecked, the harder it will be to eradicate fully from our music ecosystem. That’s why the Streaming Integrity Initiative, coming on the heels of the ‘End Streaming Fraud’ campaign, is vitally important and sees the global recorded music community uniting around key principles that will protect artists, songwriters, and fans from its harmful effects.
“Rights-holders have stepped up, and we now need distributors, DSPs, and other stakeholders to match this commitment and support SII so that collectively we can put an end to streaming fraud.”
Simon Wills, managing director, Absolute Label Services, said: “Combating artificial streaming cannot be a reactive game of whack-a-mole, it demands intelligent, forward-looking technology paired with cross-industry collaboration.
“By integrating deep, multi-signal fraud detection into our music OS, Anthology, Absolute is enabling rightsholders to identify potential irregularities early. We fully support IFPI’s Streaming Integrity Initiative and are proud to champion a cleaner, fairer digital ecosystem for all artists and rightsholders.”
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