Spotify has cut more than 500,000 registered streams from Malcolm Todd’s song “Earrings” after a sharp rise in plays pushed the track to No. 1 on the daily US chart of the platform
The move followed concerns around activity on Kalshi, a US prediction market that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulates. Kalshi lets users stake real money on future events, including music chart outcomes. One market asked users to bet on the most-streamed song on Spotify in the US for June.
The Financial Times first reported the sudden rise in streams. According to the report, “Earrings” jumped around 70% in one day and reached No. 1 on Monday, June 29.
Bloomberg later reported that Spotify found and removed more than 500,000 artificial streams that it did not believe came from real listeners. After the cut, “Earrings” dropped back to No. 4.
Spotify said all streaming services face changing stream manipulation attempts. The company added that it uses detection and mitigation systems and does not pay royalties on manipulated plays.
Kalshi Market Had Already Settled Over $3 Million
By the time Spotify removed the streams, Kalshi had already settled its June market using the inflated data. Bloomberg reported that the market drew around $3 million in trading.
Kalshi had also paid bettors before the manipulation came to light. A Kalshi spokesperson said the company had contacted Spotify and had started investigating the matter.
Key Facts
- “Earrings” had spent weeks inside Spotify’s US top five before the one-day surge.
- A Kalshi trader reportedly flagged the suspicious activity to Spotify.
- Spotify has asked Kalshi and Polymarket to remove its logo from their sites with immediate effect.
- There is no suggestion that Malcolm Todd or his team took part in the manipulation.
The track first appeared on Todd’s 2024 mixtape “Sweet Boy.” Columbia Records, part of Sony Music, sent it to US pop radio on April 14 after it gained traction on TikTok.
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