logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2019
23m 43s

Mystery Music ‘Forced’ onto Streamers

Bbc World Service
About this episode

At the start of October some users of a music-streaming platform found that their accounts were playing songs against their wishes. Artists like the Bergenulo Five and DJ Bruej were streamed thousands of times, with Spotify users claiming the music was forced onto them. Apart from the listings on the streaming platforms, the musicians had next to no digital footprint on the rest of the internet - no fan pages, no concert listings and no photos of the actual band members. So who was behind the streaming and why?

Reporter: Jonathan Griffin Producer: Ant Adeane

(Photo: A woman with an unhappy expression wearing headphones whilst placing her hands over her ears. Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Jun 2024
Trending is moving to the Documentary Podcast
BBC Trending's podcast feed is closing, but we'll be publishing new episodes in the BBC World Service's Documentary Podcast from now on. Search for The Documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts, and subscribe to get new episodes of BBC Trending along with a range of exciting ... Show More
43s
Jun 2024
Colombia’s guerrilla recruitment video problem
Fighters from dissident armed groups in Colombia are using TikTok to glorify their lives as guerrillas and recruit youngsters.These armed groups didn't like the terms of a peace treaty negotiated between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government in 2016 ... Show More
18m 6s
Jun 2024
The Kenyan influencer championing climate denial
Jusper Machogu is a farmer from southwestern Kenya who describes himself as a “climate sceptic”: he wrongly claims that climate change is a “scam” or a “hoax” designed to hold Africa back. On social media, he has also become known as a staunch defender of fossil fuel exploration ... Show More
18m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2022
Is Spotify killing the music industry?
Not so long ago the music industry was threatened like it had never been before as online piracy tore into the profit margins of record labels the world over. Often hailed as the saviour, Spotify stepped in and offered audiences a new way of enjoying their favourite artists and w ... Show More
24m 14s
Mar 2019
How Streaming Changed the Sound of Pop
Streaming hasn't just changed the way we listen to music, it's changed the way that pop music sounds. After years of losses due to the death of the CD and the rise of file sharing, the music industry has finally found a profitable business in streaming services. Streaming has ove ... Show More
36m 15s
Mar 2024
What’s happening to music on TikTok?
If you’ve made a TikTok recently, you might not have been able to add your favourite artist’s music. That’s because Universal, a massive record label that represents a third of all music in the world, won’t let TikTok use music by any of its signed artists - or songs that were wr ... Show More
13m 28s
Jan 2023
Taylor Swift and the music industry's next $20
Streaming feels like it's both at its height and on a precipice. Musicians are fed up at getting paid fractions of a penny, and the whole business model seems precarious. Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding was talking about the challenges for streaming future with my friend ... Show More
1h 22m
Oct 2023
Clive Davis Says Planned Documentary Will Take Viewers Inside His Pre-Grammy Party, Music's 'Hottest Ticket'
Legendary music industry executive Clive Davis joins the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast for its super-sized 10th anniversary episode! Davis regales the Pop Shop team with stories about five of the biggest artists he’s worked with over the decades: Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, Pri ... Show More
1h 13m
May 2021
Episode 2: What has Spotify done to its music artists?
On this weeks episode of Zoe's Podcast we dive deep into the actions of spotify and the issues it caused to its artists as well as less mainstream creators. Do artists deserve proper compensation for their hard work producing music? What happened to Lady Gaga? tune in to find out ... Show More
16m 15s