Bots targeted Spotify as early as 2015, but the industry became aware of their widespread use earlier this year when after a MBW expose revealed that two Bulgarian based playlists filled with hundreds of tracks by unknown artists had sucked $1 million or more out of the Spotify royalty pool. Eight months after the story broke, bots continue to manipulate streams on both Spotify and Soundcloud, with the streamers and the industry seemingly unable or unwilling to stop them.
Source: Spotify, Soundcloud Bot Farms Continue To Manipulate Streaming Numbers