LOS ANGELES/TORONTO (CelebrityAccess) – According to Beatdapp Software, a music data tracking firm specializing in fraud detection, streaming fraud siphons around $2 billion from artists’ royalties annually. This stolen money ends up in the hands of those producing low-quality content designed to exploit streaming revenues.
“No one notices that a few pennies are going to this song and a few pennies are going to that song, but in aggregate, they can steal billions of dollars,” Beatdapp co-CEOs Andrew Batey and Morgan Hayduk told Sky News recently.
“That money would have gone to real artists and been used to pay managers, agents, lawyers, labels, and distributors. Instead, it’s siphoned off by professional scammers stealing from the industry.”
To combat this issue, Beatdapp has partnered with various music industry firms to provide access to its fraud-detection systems. The latest partnership is with Beatport, an EDM-oriented digital music service for DJs. Beatport will integrate Beatdapp’s technology to deliver “daily, weekly, and monthly streaming charts devoid of manipulation or fraud” and provide accurate insights into music trends and consumption patterns, the companies said in a statement released on July 9.
Beatdapp claims its technology analyzes massive data sets to detect fraudulent streams, ensuring rightful payouts for artists and rights holders. In 2023, the company analyzed more than 2 trillion streams and 20 trillion data points.
“We launched streaming products under the Beatport and Beatsource brands in 2019, and despite not being a historical target for streaming fraud, suspicious activity has been on the rise recently,” said Helen Sartory, Chief Revenue Officer at The Beatport Group. “Although our fraud rates remain half the industry average, we rely on accurate streaming data to preserve fair compensation to artists and labels and track recommendations and analytics. We are excited to work with Beatdapp to ensure our data represents authentic listener engagement.”
Beatport, which started as an online music store in 2004, has reinvented itself as a music resource for DJs after backing out of competing with Spotify in 2015. The company made several acquisitions, including DJ streaming service Pulselocker in 2018, sound pack and plugin retailer Loopmasters in 2020, music discovery portal LabelRadar in 2022, and tech company Campsite in 2022. It also took a majority stake in the International Music Summit (IMS) in 2023 and partnered with DIY distributor TuneCore.
“At Beatport, we have always been committed to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance the music experience for our users,” Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels said. “Partnering with Beatdapp aligns perfectly with our mission to proactively tackle the issue of streaming fraud, ensuring a fair and transparent environment for artists and listeners alike.”
Pouria Assadipour, Beatdapp CTO, emphasized, “By integrating our fraud detection technology with Beatport’s platform, we’re empowering artists and rights holders to receive fair compensation for their creative endeavors.”
For Vancouver-headquartered Beatdapp, the deal with Beatport is one of many partnerships, including one with Universal Music Group after raising $17 million in a new funding round. Other partnerships include social music platform Hangout FM and AI music startup Boomy.
