Investigative website ProPublica claims that Spotify and Apple Music’s artist profile systems have been exploited in order to gain coveted Instagram verified profiles. The alleged scammers would create fake artist profiles, upload music (“often nothing more than basic looping beats”), and then illicitly boost the streaming numbers of those tracks, as well as buying articles promoting those artists on legitimate websites. This mix of streaming numbers, the presence of a “verified artist” check on the artist’s Spotify profile, and external media coverage was then used as “proof” in applications for a Instagram verification checkmark.
