Spotify Removes 500K Streams Amid Manipulation Concerns
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 58 minutes ago
0mins
Source: seekingalpha
- Streaming Manipulation Incident: Spotify has removed over 500,000 streams of the indie-pop song 'Earrings' after suspicious betting activity caused its rise from No. 4 to No. 1 on the platform, highlighting potential risks of streaming manipulation.
- Betting Activity Raises Concerns: Traders on Kalshi flagged the suspicious betting, leading Spotify to confirm that the streams were generated by bots programmed to play songs repeatedly, aimed at manipulating streaming data and affecting song rankings.
- Kalshi's Response: Despite Spotify's removal of these streams, Kalshi has already paid out to bettors associated with 'Earrings', indicating the complexity of the streaming manipulation issue, with no evidence found linking Todd or his team to the activity.
- Spotify's Preventive Measures: Spotify stated it has 'best-in-class detection and mitigation practices for manipulated streams' and requested Kalshi and Polymarket to remove its logo, emphasizing its commitment to brand integrity and distancing itself from these platforms.
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Analyst Views on SPOT
Wall Street analysts forecast SPOT stock price to rise
21 Analyst Rating
15 Buy
6 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 472.480
Low
525.00
Averages
750.79
High
900.00
Current: 472.480
Low
525.00
Averages
750.79
High
900.00
About SPOT
Spotify Technology SA a Luxembourg-based company, which offers digital music-streaming services. The Company enables users to discover new releases, which includes the latest singles and albums; playlists, which includes ready-made playlists put together by music fans and experts, and over millions of songs so that users can play their favorites, discover new tracks and build a personalized collection. Its users can either select Spotify Free, which includes only shuffle play or Spotify Premium, which encompasses a range of features, such as shuffle play, advertisement free, unlimited skips, listen offline, play any track and audio. The Company operates through a number of subsidiaries, including Spotify LTD and is present in over 20 countries. Its service offers a music listening experience without commercial breaks.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Spotify Removes 500K Streams Amid Manipulation Concerns
- Streaming Manipulation Incident: Spotify has removed over 500,000 streams of the indie-pop song 'Earrings' after suspicious betting activity caused its rise from No. 4 to No. 1 on the platform, highlighting potential risks of streaming manipulation.
- Betting Activity Raises Concerns: Traders on Kalshi flagged the suspicious betting, leading Spotify to confirm that the streams were generated by bots programmed to play songs repeatedly, aimed at manipulating streaming data and affecting song rankings.
- Kalshi's Response: Despite Spotify's removal of these streams, Kalshi has already paid out to bettors associated with 'Earrings', indicating the complexity of the streaming manipulation issue, with no evidence found linking Todd or his team to the activity.
- Spotify's Preventive Measures: Spotify stated it has 'best-in-class detection and mitigation practices for manipulated streams' and requested Kalshi and Polymarket to remove its logo, emphasizing its commitment to brand integrity and distancing itself from these platforms.
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Spotify Removes 500K Streams Amid Manipulation Concerns
- Streaming Manipulation Incident: Spotify has removed over 500,000 streams of the indie-pop song 'Earrings' after suspicious betting activity caused its rise from No. 4 to No. 1 on the platform, highlighting potential risks of streaming manipulation.
- Betting Activity Raises Concerns: Traders on Kalshi flagged the suspicious betting, leading Spotify to confirm that the streams were generated by bots programmed to play songs repeatedly, aimed at manipulating streaming data and affecting song rankings.
- Kalshi's Response: Despite Spotify's removal of these streams, Kalshi has already paid out to bettors associated with 'Earrings', indicating the complexity of the streaming manipulation issue, with no evidence found linking Todd or his team to the activity.
- Spotify's Preventive Measures: Spotify stated it has 'best-in-class detection and mitigation practices for manipulated streams' and requested Kalshi and Polymarket to remove its logo, emphasizing its commitment to brand integrity and distancing itself from these platforms.
See More
UBS's Top Stock Picks for Q3 2026
- Vertiv Stock Surge: Vertiv's stock has surged 92% this year, establishing itself as a favored AI infrastructure play, with UBS analysts noting its strong cash flow return on investment and high asset growth rates, suggesting that its upward value creation trajectory remains intact.
- Nvidia Economic Profit: Although Nvidia's stock is only up 6% in 2026, UBS still regards it as an exemplary wealth compounder, forecasting a doubling of its economic profit by 2027, with analysts' consensus indicating over 50% upside potential from current levels.
- Ralph Lauren Recovery: Ralph Lauren's stock has rallied 13% this year, with UBS highlighting a sharp rebound in cash flow return on investment from pandemic lows, projecting a decade-high of 15%, while the market remains optimistic about its long-term growth potential with a target price suggesting an additional 7% upside.
- Diverse Stock Picks: UBS's list also includes Spotify, Boston Scientific, Target, and Coca-Cola, reflecting confidence in a diversified investment strategy aimed at capitalizing on opportunities arising from market recovery.
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- Performance Decline: Adyen revised its 2026 revenue growth outlook to 20%-22%, below analyst expectations, leading to a sharp stock price drop, with a 42% decline year-to-date, reflecting investor pessimism about its future.
- Executive Turnover Impact: The unexpected resignation of the CFO raised market concerns, as key leadership departures typically unsettle investors, further exacerbating negative sentiment towards Adyen.
- Product Portfolio Expansion: Adyen is enhancing its payment processing capabilities through acquisitions of Talon One and Orb, with the former providing real-time incentives to boost checkout volume and the latter optimizing pricing and billing management, which are expected to drive revenue growth.
- Long-Term Growth Potential: Despite short-term revenue growth deceleration, Adyen has maintained a 37% annual growth rate since 2016, and it anticipates EBITDA to reach 55% of revenue by 2028, demonstrating its strong competitive position and long-term growth potential in the global payments market.
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- Revenue Growth Outlook Downgrade: In early 2026, Adyen revised its revenue growth forecast to 20%-22%, below analyst expectations, leading to a sharp stock price drop that reflects investor concerns about the company's future performance.
- Unexpected Executive Departure: The CFO announced a surprise resignation in May, and while there were no performance-related issues indicated, the sudden departure of a key leader typically unsettles the market, exacerbating investor pessimism.
- Poor Market Performance: Year-to-date, Adyen's stock has fallen 42%, underperforming amid the AI boom, indicating challenges to its competitiveness in the payments sector and a significant decline in investor confidence.
- Acquisitions to Drive Growth: Adyen's acquisitions of Talon One and Orb this year aim to enhance client revenue growth through real-time incentives and pricing optimization, and if successfully integrated, these moves could accelerate the recovery and growth of the company's revenue.
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Zhipu's GLM 5.2 Emerges as a Competitive AI Model
- Open Source Breakthrough: Zhipu's GLM 5.2 has achieved performance close to Anthropic's Opus 4.8 on a key intelligence benchmark, while costing only a fifth of its price, showcasing its strong competitiveness in the AI market.
- Developer Surge: The rapid increase in OpenRouter token traffic indicates that GLM 5.2 is attracting a significant number of developers, surpassing the growth seen after the launch of DeepSeek V4, reflecting market recognition of its potential.
- Enterprise Automation Demand: GLM 5.2 excels in agentic tasks such as planning, coding, and testing, addressing the urgent need for efficient AI solutions among enterprises, particularly in the context of unexpectedly high AI spending.
- Future of Open Source AI: The free availability and self-hosting capabilities of GLM 5.2 exert pricing pressure on closed-source models, while providing a safer alternative amid increasing government regulation.
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- Technical Analysis Tool: Comparing the latest share price to the 200-day moving average provides valuable insights for investors, aiding in market trend assessment and potential buying opportunities.
- ETF Unit Trading Mechanism: ETFs trade like stocks, where investors buy and sell 'units' that can be created or destroyed based on demand, impacting liquidity and market performance.
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