Deezer confirmed that up to 85% of streams on AI-generated tracks in 2025 were fraudulent. Where the platform detects stream manipulation of any kind, it excludes those streams from royalty payments.
Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser said the platform demonetised two billion fraudulent streams in 2025 alone — nearly $17 million that would otherwise have been taken from legitimate artists.
Why this matters to you. Fraud draws from the same pooled royalty pot you are paid from. Projections put creators' revenue loss at a quarter by 2028.