Spotify, the Swedish giant in the music streaming world, is once again embroiled in controversy. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company in a Californian federal court, with claims pointing to widespread fraud in its streaming statistics. Leading this legal charge is rapper RBX, cousin of hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg. The lawsuit alleges that billions of fraudulent streams are being generated by artificial intelligence, boosting the profiles of major stars like Drake at the expense of lesser-known artists.

A portrait of rapper RBX, who is leading the lawsuit against Spotify.

The accusations hinge on the use of sophisticated 'bots' powered by artificial intelligence to simulate streams on the platform. The legal team behind the lawsuit scrutinized streaming data from January 2022 to September 2025, revealing that a significant portion of the 37 billion streams logged by Drake are, according to them, inauthentic. These unauthorized plays are allegedly produced by an expansive network of fake accounts, which mimic real listeners by using VPNs to obscure their geographical locations.

This manipulation, the lawsuit claims, has led to Drake amassing an outsized share of streams compared to other high-profile artists, regardless of their actual listener numbers. It's a stratagem that potentially allows both artists and the platform to benefit financially from inflated user engagement metrics, although the lawsuit stresses that the fault lies not with the performers themselves but with Spotify.

Spotify, at the center of allegations around manipulated streaming data.

Accusations of inflated streaming figures are not new to the industry, but the severity and scale of these claims could set a legal precedent, particularly as they challenge Spotify's current royalty distribution model. Under its current system, payment is determined by the proportion of an artist's streams within the entire streaming market. This can skew income towards artists like Drake when their streams are artificially multiplied.

Mark Pifko, RBX's attorney, states that manipulated streams take a financial toll on countless songwriters, performers, and producers. The legal complaint calls for over $5 million in damages, along with a directive for Spotify to identify and compensate the supposed victims of this malpractice.

Spotify's response has been measured, with a spokesperson denying any engagement in such fraudulent activities. The company insists it continually invests in cutting-edge systems to combat fake streams, maintaining measures to ensure artists receive fair compensation.

This legal challenge arrives amid ongoing industry debates over Spotify's embrace of AI-generated content, artist remuneration, and broader concerns about the ethical responsibilities of technology-driven platforms. Should the case proceed, it could fundamentally challenge the way streaming services operate and redistribute revenue—a shift that many in the music world are keenly watching.