Spotify Faces New Lawsuit Over Alleged “Modern Payola” Scheme

Spotify is facing one of its most turbulent weeks yet. New lawsuits raise questions about the company’s credibility in the music industry. A class-action complaint accuses the streaming giant of neglecting to address widespread streaming fraud. Spotify has strongly denied the claims, calling them “baseless.” It insists that the company uphold fairness and accuracy through its detection systems.

Although the lawsuit doesn’t name Drake as a defendant, it repeatedly cites him due to the sheer scale of his presence on the platform. Rapper RBX, whose legal name is Eric Dwayne Collins, claims that a significant portion of Drake’s roughly 37 billion streams from January 2022 to September 2025 were artificially generated. This was allegedly done by an elaborate network of bots. The allegations have stirred fresh debate about the authenticity of some of the platform’s most popular artists and their reported success.

In response, a Spotify representative reaffirmed the company’s commitment to fighting artificial streaming. “While we are unable to comment on pending litigation,” the spokesperson said, “Spotify does not gain from the widespread issue of artificial streaming. We continuously invest in top-tier systems. These are designed to detect and eliminate fake streams, protect artist earnings, and enforce penalties against offenders.”

New Lawsuit Alleges “Modern Payola” Practices

Adding to its mounting legal pressure, Spotify now faces another class-action suit filed by New York subscriber Genevieve Capolongo. Reports indicate that the complaint accuses the company of engaging in “modern payola.” It alleges that Spotify misleads users by selling playlist visibility while promoting itself as an organic discovery platform.

Capolongo’s lawsuit claims that Spotify exploits the trust of its subscribers by blurring the line between genuine recommendations and paid placements. “Despite being aware that Spotify’s claims regarding personalization are misleading, [Capolongo] continues to suffer harm each time she engages with the platform,” the filing reads. “She is unable to discern which tracks are genuinely curated and which are pushed through undisclosed financial arrangements. This hinders her ability to make informed listening decisions.”

Spotify has not yet commented publicly on the latest filing.