French Montana and G-Eazy have been busted as two of the numerous musicians out there who have indirectly benefited from black market streaming specialists. Most of the high streaming numbers you see musicians brag about are made possible by these black-market streaming specialists.
There is no denying that the way in which recording artists stream their music had changed the landscape of the industry. In fact, skeptics have often pointed out that because streaming platforms can be manipulated in favor of recording artists by third-party participants in the black market, it has become nearly impossible to assess just how invested their listeners truly are.
So, in an effort to explore the depths of this unlawful phenomenon, the late Michael K. Williams launched an on-air investigation during a recent episode of his television series with VICE called “Black Market With Michael K.Williams.”
In the aforementioned episode, a masked fraudster openly admitted that it was common practice for major artists from major record labels to come to him and his colleagues for an artificial boost in term streaming numbers. The episode went on to sight French Montana and G-Eazy as an example of artists who have indirectly benefited from black market streaming specialists.
In the old days, when someone like me had to buy CDs and Cassettes, the labels would buy a bunch of records to make sure an artist went number #1. For instance, say a new rapper was coming out they wanted to push, and the best way to do that is being #1 on Billboard charts because if people see they are #1, they might be more apt to go out and buy the record. Say the real sales were looking at 200k, but to get to #1, they need 300k. The label would just buy that extra 100k. The wild thing about is the artist never got that money because the label would just charge them for it.
The only difference in 2022 is they are using computers and hackers. The same day, different sh*t.
Flip to the next page to watch VICE called “Black Market With Michael K.Williams.”
