Beatport and Beatdapp Partner to Combat Annual Streaming Fraud of Up to $3 Billion

Streaming platforms are paying exorbitant sums of money to bad actors, claims research from Beatdapp, who revealed that roughly 10% of all music streams are fraudulent.

That’s according to a recent report from Sky News, which illuminated troubling figures from the music data tracking company. As it stands, all the money from subscriptions is placed into a large pool used to pay out artists per stream. This model has reportedly been exploited by scammers, whose methodology typically involves uploading a song and then implementing bots to stream it en masse before collecting royalties on the artificial plays.

That fraudulent activity has resulted in up to $3 billion in revenue each year, per Beatdapp. The firm has now joined forces with Beatport with the hopes of amplifying their fraud detection technology to make sure on-platform streams are authentic.

The merits for the company are crystal-clear—by detecting fraud, they won’t be wasting money paying for inauthentic content. However, Beatport’s charts open the door to benefits for non-artist users on the platform. With the elimination of fraudulent streams, Beatport’s chart rankings will give users a better idea of who’s organically trending in the industry through a “fair and transparent environment” devoid of the influence of pay-to-win bots.

Helen Sartory, Beatport’s Chief Revenue Officer, acknowledged that fraud is less of a problem on their platform as opposed to Spotify or Apple Music, but doubled down on these benefits.

“We launched streaming products under the Beatport and Beatsource brands in 2019, and despite the fact that they have not historically been a target for streaming fraud, suspicious activity has been on the rise in recent months,” Sartory said in a statement. “Although our fraud rates still remain half that of the industry average, we rely on accurate streaming data not only to preserve fair compensation to artists and labels, but also for track recommendations and analytics. We are excited to be able to work with Beatdapp to ensure that our data is representative of authentic listener engagement.”

You can learn more about Beatdapp’s fraud detection technology here.

How ODESZA's “Searingly Emotional” Tech Installation Healed the Wounds of Saying Goodbye

As ODESZA‘s “The Last Goodbye” tour finally turned into an actual prophecy, their fans weren’t prepared for the void they’d soon confront.

Returning to the breathtaking Gorge Amphitheatre in their home state of Washington, the duo developed “Echoes,” a tech-driven art installation moonlighting as a monument to their unparalleled connection with those ride-or-dies.

“The Last Goodbye,” which takes its name from ODESZA’s scintillating album of the same name, persisted for roughly three years and is now universally regarded as their most innovative production yet. The tour officially met its end last week after a trio of spectacular finale shows from July 4-6, but not before the band left fans with one more trophy for their museum of memories.

Walking through two rows of three iridescent, curved towers, the scene at the Gorge looked like some kind of phantasmagoric Stonehenge—only with less history and more LEDs. “Echoes” was fueled by a single PC powered by a minuscule-but-mighty Snapdragon X Elite processor from Qualcomm, with whom ODESZA’s Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills collaborated on its development. 66,000 fans passed through the bleeding-edge installation, which featured 120 LED panels displaying projection-mapped visual content from ODESZA and their tour.

However, even in such a smorgasbord of surrealist art and tech, the pièce de résistance of “Echoes” was the integration of voicemails recorded by fans. Mills and Knight shared an anonymous phone number in the weeks prior and asked fans to leave messages containing their favorite ODESZA memories, which were played in 4D audio around the towers and transcribed on their LED panels, transforming them into conduits for immersive storytelling.

The voicemails were a microcosm of the duo’s extraordinary bond with their fans after years of nurturing a community through consistent artistic evolution and haunting songwriting. They were brought to life inside the Gorge’s grounds by the visionary team behind UPROXX Studios and a pair of renowned art collectives, SETUP and The Vessel.

It’s worth noting that Knight and Mills are fiercely selective when it comes to collaborations, so their leap of faith was not lost on this horde of contrarian creatives, who set out to prove that technology can facilitate the emotional release of ODESZA’s music.

“You know how much risk goes into developing something like ODESZA? It’s hard to even comprehend,” says Jarret Myer, co-founder and CEO of UPROXX Studios. “We weren’t with them when they were traveling around in a van. We weren’t with them in their room struggling over the right chord change in a song.”

“There has to be a level of ‘what if,'” Myer adds when asked about his studio’s secret sauce to brand-building. “ODESZA is such a great example of incredible storytelling because they’re willing to tell big stories that they might not even know all the answers to—in all of their different mythologies—but they’re willing to weave a huge tapestry.”

Through anecdotes ranging from walk-on-air nostalgia to heartsick ache, the installation captured the essence of a generation that wears its emotions like the very voicemails within its lattice—fragile confessions left in the hopes that someone, somewhere, will take the time to listen and understand.

If technology could shed tears, it would’ve weeped through the ducts of “Echoes.” It was the fans, though, who felt its “searingly emotional” weight in droves. That’s according to Steve Bramucci, UPROXX Studios’ charismatic Senior Creative Director, who said he ultimately saw fans bawling their eyes out.

“It’s an incredible weight to truly matter to people,” Bramucci told us at the Gorge the night before the show, just minutes after we watched ODESZA rehearse before an empty amphitheater during a sublime sunset. “It’s a lot different to not matter to people. And I think [Mills and Knight] take that weight with the gravity that it deserves.”

“I am not good at a million things, but I am good at gratitude and understanding the privileged position that it is to be able to come up with ideas like [‘Echoes’] for a living… it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve been a part of.”

For over 12 years the quest for human connection has been in the bone marrow of ODESZA’s music, which has the profound ability to tether itself to the charts that dictate our growth and happiness—or our gnawing desire for hope. Technology acts as both a lifeline and a labyrinth in that pursuit for fans, especially in a digital age that casts a longer shadow everyday on pavement scuffed up by polarizing algorithms.

But it’s clear the team behind Qualcomm’s Snapdragon tech knows that beneath the surface of our digital interactions lies a paradoxical truth: the very tools that seem to separate us can, when wielded with intention and compassion, enrich the human experience across vast distances. The words of love shared between partners continents apart; the silent tears of joy as grandparents witness their grandchild’s first steps virtually; the poignant memories of an ODESZA fan drifting literally through crisp summer air thousands of miles away; these moments are no longer lost to separation and time.

By reaching through the digital veil with genuine curiosity—and a deep adoration of the band’s relationship with fans—Qualcomm inoculated its Snapdragon chips with processing power that extends far beyond their circuitry. As fears of technology’s power to atrophy human creativity worsen in the AI era, the company used its products to conjure a world in the Gorge where that chasm was caulked by real-life monoliths for shared emotion.

“I think we have a shared vision for creating moving experiences,” said Tami Dunnam, Global Brand Manager at Qualcomm. “ODESZA cares deeply about their fans and taking them on a journey with their music and their performances, and Snapdragon is focused on connecting with people through their passions, enabling and enhancing their experiences with best-in-class technology.”

“ODESZA also embodies creativity in a way that completely impressed me,” Dunnam adds. “Their showmanship is multi-layered, blending a unique sound and stunning visuals. Their performance wraps together EDM, strings, brass, drums, vocalists, lasers, lights, pyro and truly breathtaking graphics with perfect harmony. The experience is both amazing and moving. I see a very strong connection between what ODESZA represents and Snapdragon’s ethos of ‘The Power to Move.’ Because Snapdragon isn’t just about industry-leading technology, it’s about delivering experiences, enabling passions and unleashing emotion.”

Dunnam and her Snapdragon team had lots of help, of course. That includes award-winning brand activation expert Jenny Feterovich, CEO of The Vessel and Creative Director of “Echoes.”

“This has never been done before,” Feterovich said as the installation teemed with fans in the distance. “This is really insane—what we pitched [Mills and Knight]—and off we went. It’s a true collab with ODESZA because they’ve never worked with other creatives before, for the whole entire existence of their being. They’ve never let an outside creative force in. It’s a true honor.”

“The band would do nothing that wasn’t authentic to them,” Bramucci affirms. “They were vigorous about that. They were very solid on that: ‘If it’s not authentic to us, we will not do it. Full stop. Talk to you later. Take your money and walk away.’ And I think that’s why this has mattered, because it’s authentic to people.”

Feterovich’s initial pitch to build the installation, she tells us, was rejected a staggering 18 times. That would deter most, but not this relentless creative, who is officially listed as the “Chief Energy Officer” of The Vessel.

“People called us crazy,” she recalls. “They said, ‘You’re insane. There’s no time. It’s too expensive. Less than two months.’ Then our technical director, Phil, said, ‘Why don’t you just sleep on this?’ So then we convinced another crazy person to go on this journey, because the technical part of building this physically is so ambitious. It’s insane.”

While the remarkably detailed “Echoes” seemed effortless at first glance, the days leading up to its reveal were anything but. As the beginning of the end of an era for ODESZA approached, the sprint to activate the baroque installation lasted until just a few hours before showtime.

There were enough obscure details in the installation’s blueprint and the granular nature of its production to make Frank Lloyd Wright bite his nails. At any given moment, you could see Vasilii Miroliubov, a virtuosic designer at SETUP, intensely examining it.

For starters, a construction team had to level the grassy knoll to ensure uniformity in the height of the installation’s pillars, each of which came with its own set of unique problems.

The cutting-edge LED panels were then assiduously sheared and whittled down to fit each 30-foot tower’s convex shape, according to Keenon Rush, a creative producer on the project. That feat was accomplished after delays due to the glue drying too quickly under the punishing Pacific Northwest sun.

Another architectural triumph was rooted in the terra firma beneath the installation’s feet. Stakes were high for its producers at the Gorge, one of the world’s most scenic concert venues, to entwine with nature in a way that felt organic. They consequently positioned the pillars with the foresight to integrate them into dusk so “it looks like we’re siphoning the sun’s energy when it sets in the mountain range,” Rush said.

All of these minutiae kept the teams up through the dead of night, plugging away at the Gorge less than 24 hours before doors were scheduled to open.

“Not a single person or team feels that they’re alone,” Feterovich said. “We’re in this together and we have been through so many crises since we landed. I can’t even begin to tell you. But here’s the thing: we operate out of love, not fear. And we as a team, we can solve any problem. I have incredible amounts of self-belief and we will figure it the fuck out.”

The unflappable Feterovich, who served as a pressure valve in the cooker of the “Echoes” stress test, said she never lost sight of her prevailing goal in life, simply “to make really dope-ass shit come alive.” She’s being charmingly reductive when it comes to the elaborate project, a truly “immersive” experience existing on the fringe of a modern music industry which continues to beat that word into oblivion.

Once a descriptor of depth, the term is now as shallow as a kiddie pool, with artists and marketers constantly leaving fans wondering if they’ve accidentally wandered into a sensory deprivation tank or just another overhyped show. Thanks to the deceptive nature of far too many in entertainment, no one really knows what “immersive” means anymore.

But ODESZA and friends found a silver bullet within the Gorge’s idyllic grounds. Fans came for the music but they left with so much more, including a new perspective on the power of closure.

“As you’re standing there in the middle of this thing and you see people crying, and you hear four-dimensional audio of people talking about how ODESZA affected their life at a time of loss, you can just get lost. For me, this is the true meaning,” explained Feterovich’s colleague, Roustam Mirzoev, a music industry vet and experiential marketing specialist. “People saying they have goosebumps, people are crying, people going through in and out; that’s the real difference between the buzzword and the real experience. When it’s immersive, you can feel it.”

“We live in the intersection of art, music and technology, which is a beautiful space to live,” Feterovich adds. “To us, this is the future of storytelling. This is the future of making people feel things.”

The dreamlike nature of “Echoes” wasn’t exclusive just to its physical attributes. From an existential perspective, it was a dream come true for filmmaker Steven Vasquez, rooted in the idea that each of us has the ability to create our own sense of purpose with our work.

“Everybody here cares about music in a real, legitimate way,” gushed Vasquez, the Director of Production at UPROXX Studios, whose deep portfolio includes credits producing music videos for Steve Aoki and The Chainsmokers. “Everything is authentic to the music, the fans, the feelings, the emotion, the expression… this is what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s my dream. My dream has always been to just build something for real.”

To that end, now that “Echoes” has been dismantled, we’re left to wonder—what constitutes an authentic shared experience in the digital age? And what’s the key to fostering community in this period of technological mediation?

It all starts with unfiltered creativity, Dunnam says.

“Snapdragon enables you to unleash your creativity,” she explains. “You can achieve more because the technology experience is so seamless and powerful—it’s like an extension of yourself. So you can get into that flow state where creativity meets productivity, where you can be so fully immersed in and focused on what you’re doing that everything around you seems to fade into the background.”

UPROXX Studios is now producing a four-part video series documenting the development and cultural impact of “Echoes.” Fans can watch the series here.

Generative AI Music Programs Suno and Udio Sued by Major Labels

The recording industry is intensifying its fight against unauthorized, AI-generated music with lawsuits targeting two leading services, Suno and Udio.

Filed in separate U.S. district courts, the suits allege that the companies behind those programs have unlawfully exploited copyrighted sound recordings to train their AI-powered text-to-music models.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has reportedly spearheaded the lawsuits, representing the big three major labels: Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records. The complaints emphasize that Suno and Udio have copied vast amounts of sound recordings without obtaining proper permissions, thus violating fundamental copyright laws.

According to the complaints, AI-powered music generation services like Suno and Udio operate by ingesting massive datasets of popular music to create new outputs that mimic human sound recordings. This method, the lawsuits argue, not only infringes on copyright but also poses risks of flooding the market with AI-generated music, which could overshadow genuine works created by humans.

The lawsuits seek to achieve several goals: court declarations that the services have infringed on copyrighted works, injunctions to prevent future infringements and financial damages for past violations.

RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier stressed that while the music community is open to collaborating with responsible AI developers, unlicensed services pose a significant threat to the integrity and value of human creativity.

“The music community has embraced AI and we are already partnering and collaborating with responsible developers to build sustainable AI tools centered on human creativity that put artists and songwriters in charge,” Glazier said in a statement. “But we can only succeed if developers are willing to work together with us. Unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it’s ‘fair’ to copy an artist’s life’s work and exploit it for their own profit without consent or pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.”

Twitch Inks Landmark Music Licensing Deals for Livestreamed DJ Sets

Twitch has inked licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music and “hundreds” of independent music rightsholders enabling DJs to legally play copyrighted songs in their streams, the company announced this week.

The landmark agreements, which Twitch claims are the first of their kind, precipitated the “Twitch DJ Program,” which will pay royalties to the platform’s artists—but with a few caveats.

“This program is only applicable to those who live-stream as DJs, and does not apply to other uses of music,” Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said in a blog post. “DJs will need to opt-in to a new agreement that will apply to all streaming on their channel. For those who only stream DJ content part-time, we recommend creating a second standalone channel dedicated to DJ live-streaming.”

In order to “cover the cost of the music” played by DJs in their videos, Twitch will allocate a portion of their revenue to the record labels and artists behind the streamed music. In other words, DJs will have to cough up an unspecified percentage of their earnings to rightsholders. These costs will vary depending on “how a channel monetizes,” but for most streamers, Clancy says, Twitch will split them 50/50.

The platform experienced breakneck growth after its acquisition by Amazon for $970 million back in 2014, and its popularity erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic as DJs desperately turned to streaming to stay financially afloat. But Twitch found itself in hot water after issuing rampant DMCA takedown notices to legions of its users, who were unwittingly playing songs in their streams without the rights to do so by virtue of the company’s business model.

“DJs have been streaming on Twitch for some time now, but have been personally responsible for the challenges of tackling these issues, along with the risks of not doing so,” reads Clancy’s blog post. “Twitch has been able to mitigate these risks during ongoing negotiations with music companies, who have been willing to keep the status quo during our discussions.”

“It’s crucial that DJs understand the status quo on Twitch was not sustainable, and any viable future for the community required we find a solution,” he added.

The new licensing deals not only legitimize Twitch as a veritable music hub, but also serve as a watershed moment for DJs. They can now freely select music and perform without legal ramifications, opening up new avenues for monetization and audience growth.

A late-2021 study by the music analytics firm Luminate suggested that Twitch is instrumental in fueling the discovery of electronic dance music and found that the platform’s users “are 84% more likely to listen to EDM than the average music listener.” Look no further than Crossmauz, a teenage Twitch creator who configured in his bedroom a rig of festival-grade lasers, strobe lights, speakers and even pyrotechnics to blast EDM during his gaming streams.

The number of DJs streaming on Twitch has more than quadrupled since 2020, according to Clancy, who said that “over 15,000 of them have been able to build and monetize communities of music fans” on the platform.

“We’re proud to be the first major service to provide a safe, permanent home for DJs, and we are excited to now be able to promote and support these creators as they build communities on our service and beyond,” he said.

You can can find out more about the “Twitch DJ Program” here.

Spotify Hits Replay on Price Hikes, Raises Subscription Rates for the Second Time in a Year

Just when you thought your monthly subscription was safe, Spotify has decided to raise prices—again. Starting next month, US subscribers will face higher fees for Premium, Duo and Family plans, marking the second increase within a year.

Beginning in July, Spotify Premium will cost $11.99 per month, up from the previous $10.99. Duo plans will rise by $2 to $16.99 per month and Family plans will see a $3 increase, bringing the total to $19.99 per month.

Spotify justified these increases by stating, “So that we can continue to invest in and innovate on our product features and bring users the best experience, we occasionally update our prices.”

The streaming giant is far from alone in this inflationary trend. Major competitors like Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus have also raised their prices recently, leading many to question the future affordability of streaming services.

Likewise, for many artists, Spotify’s payment model remains a contentious issue. The platform pays royalties based on an artist’s share of overall streams, amounting to roughly $0.003 to $0.005 per play, not enough for the overwhelming majority of artists to sustain a living wage.

Ironically, the company’s announcement comes at a controversial time. Just days ago, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek faced backlash for a post on X claiming that the cost of creating content was “close to zero,” a statement widely lambasted by musicians who argued that producing quality music is far from free. Ek eventually backpedaled but is still facing a great deal of criticism.

Support Independent Electronic Music Artists With Beatport's New Weekly Playlist

Discovering talented producers before they headline festivals is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences for any fans of dance music. Now, finding underground artists is even easier thanks to Beatport.

The company will plug them in their new playlist, “Best New Independent Artists,” which will update weekly to illuminate promising talents without access to the big-budget backing of a major label. The groundbreaking playlist, which Beatport says is the first of its kind, will benefit both fans who want to discover new songs as well as the artists behind them, who will connect with new audiences around the world.

Beatport is collaborating with independent artist distribution partners like TuneCore, DistroKid and Music Hub to curate the playlist, according to a press release. These three partners are now actively accepting music submissions from independent artists who are looking to expand their reach.

It’s no secret that major labels wield their influence to market their artists and blitz the electronic music scene, making it particularly difficult for new artists to find their footing when promoting their music. By spotlighting the craft of emerging talent, Beatport is empowering them to forge connections within their strong DJing community.

“By curating a dedicated space for independent electronic music artists, Beatport is not only providing a platform for discovery but also ensuring that standout self-produced artists receive the recognition and compensation they deserve from the get-go,” said Raphael Pujol, Beatport’s Vice President of Global Curation.

“While other platforms may struggle with the distribution of small payments to artists with fewer streams,” she added, “our focus remains firmly on furthering the voices of independent creators and fostering a more equitable ecosystem for electronic music.

Listen to Beatport’s “Best New Independent Artists” playlist here.

DOJ Sues Live Nation and Ticketmaster Over Alleged Monopoly Practices

The Department of Justice, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, has filed a federal lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, accusing the companies of monopolistic practices in the live events industry.

The suit marks a critical step in addressing long-standing concerns about the dominance of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the concert ticket market. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that Live Nation has used its market power to stifle competition, resulting in higher ticket prices and limited options for consumers.

The DOJ claims that the company’s tactics have harmed music fans, artists and smaller promoters by fostering an unfair market landscape.

“The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services,” Attorney General Merrick Garland stated. “It is time to break up Live Nation.”

“We’re here not because Ticketmaster’s conduct is inconvenient or frustrating… we’re here because it’s illegal,” he added.

In response to the lawsuit, Dan Wall, Live Nation’s Executive Vice President of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, argued that it “ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from rising production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping.”

Wall also noted that Live Nation’s net profits do not reflect monopoly power, calling such claims “absurd” in a scathing blog post.

“The defining feature of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly pricing. Live Nation in no way fits the profile,” he said. “Service charges on Ticketmaster are no higher than on SeatGeek, AXS, or other primary ticketing sites, and are frequently lower. In fact, when Ticketmaster loses a venue to SeatGeek, service charges usually go up substantially. And even accounting for sponsorship, an advertising business that helps keep ticket prices down, Live Nation’s overall net profit margin is at the low end of profitable S&P 500 companies.”

Shares of Live Nation reportedly fell 5% following news of the lawsuit.

Music Royalty Transparency Platform Mogul Surpasses $100 Million of Tracked Funds

In the music industry, where financial transparency often feels like a mirage, Mogul is emerging as a lifeline for artists seeking clarity in their earned compensation.

Mogul addresses the longstanding problem of financial opacity in the music business by centralizing royalty data across all rights types into a single actionable hub, an effective go-to solution for artists aiming to simplify their finances and capture every cent of their earnings.

According to a press release shared with EDM.com, the platform has now tracked over $100 million in royalties since its debut in early February, a clear sign the company is establishing itself as a promising, transformative force for artists.

“Surpassing $100 million in tracked royalties so quickly is a clear sign that the industry’s opaque and fragmented nature needs to be remedied,” said Mogul CEO Jeff Ponchick. “Artists and their teams receive an ocean of data from each royalty source and have little to no tools at the ready to make sense of how their business is actually working. We’re thrilled Mogul is filling that need for new artists every day so that they can understand their business and generate more income.”

Ponchick has an established track record of success when it comes to developing artist-friendly tech tools. The serial entrepreneur famously founded Repost Network, an artist-facing distribution and promotional tool that was later acquired by SoundCloud in a $15 million deal in 2019.

“I’m excited about what Mogul can do for artists at all levels of the industry,” added Aloe Blacc, an early adopter of the platform and frequent collaborator of the late dance music icon Avicii. “To have a system to synthesize all sources of income in a transparent way is transformative tech we all need.”

You can find out more about Mogul via the company’s official website.