Apple Apple Music Takes Strong Action Against Traffic Fake, Penalties Double

IT House, February 12 — Streaming media fraud has long been a persistent problem in the music industry. In a recent interview, Oliver Schusser, who oversees Apple Music, Apple TV, and other services, shared some insights into Apple’s efforts to combat fake plays on Apple Music. It is reported that Apple has recently doubled the penalties for fake streaming behavior.

The most common method of streaming fraud is: musicians or record labels using bot networks to continuously play their songs around the clock to earn royalties. However, over the years, various other forms of fraud have emerged, including traffic manipulation aimed at boosting chart rankings.

According to IT House, Apple introduced a penalty mechanism for fake plays on Apple Music as early as 2022, and has continued to increase enforcement efforts in recent years. For example, in 2023, Apple claimed to have reduced streaming manipulation by 30%.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Apple’s strategy to combat streaming fraud involves a tiered penalty system. When first implemented, the fines started at 5% and could go up to a maximum of 25%. Starting this month, Apple has doubled the penalty standards: the starting fine rate has been raised to 10%, with a maximum fine rate reaching 50%.

The report explained: “In simple terms, if you profit $1 million from streaming fraud, you could be fined up to $500,000.” Additionally, the plays generated through fraud will have their revenue directly canceled.

Schusser, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, elaborated on Apple’s measures to address Apple Music fraud: “This is a zero-sum game. I hope our platform can achieve zero fraud, and this mechanism is indeed very effective. Increasing penalties is about taking back the money from fraudsters and redistributing it to honest creators.”

Schusser revealed that in 2025 alone, Apple removed billions of manipulated plays from the platform.

“Our main competitors are also struggling with this. It’s a bit like whack-a-mole,” he said. Platforms like Spotify face similar issues but may lack an enforcement system like Apple’s. “This is a big industry problem. Everyone wants to top the charts and get into recommended playlists. Even so, last year alone, manipulated plays still reached hundreds of millions. We truly feel that the penalties introduced in 2022 have made a difference. Our core focus is on quality, and that’s all. We position ourselves as a high-quality platform, will not tolerate fraud, and want to return the benefits to honest creators.”