How Rappers Fake their Streams

"How many faking they streams? Getting they plays from machines" - J.Cole

Not going to lie, not a fan of the mans music because it just isn't my style, but I got a ton of respect for him. He has been catching heat for years because he has been telling people to not sign to the industry and stay independent. He has been openly providing the blueprint for free to anyone who asks or pays attention but they all talk trash on him or ignore him...then complain about how their labels are screwing them on a 360 deal and inflating their cost recoupment numbers and deflating their actual sales numbers for payout. Decades of the industry screwing artists but nobody wants to take the risks or put in the work to actually force the change that needs to be made. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.

Cardi B's team is phenomenal when it comes to the stream jacking.

Russ is a very brave man. Tom Petty did the same exposing the industry for unfair record prices in the early 80s. They tried to kill him but he dodged it and held on 30 more years. That's TUFF

If you understand streaming numbers on even the most basic level. 42k truly independent is CRAZY. He literally has no to lie over an additional 10k streams. Salute to bro

I got rappers in my city buying views & streams but can barely get anyone at their shows. The worst part is they wanna charge you for a feature. The game is silly!

I do PR, billboards, marketing for music and other businesses. This video is accurate, faking streams can make you money but not real fans.

This is why I hate when ppl say numbers don’t lie. Everything on this earth is a damn lie. Like everything

Im the one that tagged you on twitter about this. Im glad you covered this. Im so tired of the monopoly billboard has on the music industry. The rule changes to suit them anytime they want. Something needs to be done.

This is probably one of the reasons certain rappers hate Russ. Exposure is the best disinfectant.

That’s why counting streams as sales can never compare to going into a store and buying a physical copy.

This is one of the reasons I am almost given up on my music ”career”. 3 years of publishing music without any ”good” results. It just feels it ain’t worth it. Too much ”fake it till you make it” in streams, finances, personas or in people in general. I gave 100% on the art itself and always bought ads on them. Gained a few followers here and there and only recently it felt like it’s nothing and this music thing ain’t going anywhere. Ofc it gave me joy and ofc I’ve learned a skill that is not that easy to do, but sometimes in life you have to look yourself in the mirror and ask is there something else worth pursuing. I’ve recently asked myself that question however, I wish to all artists the best of luck!

“Taking shortcuts could have your whole career cut short” -Russ

Streaming numbers are deceiving, they can be manipulated and make some look a lot bigger than what they actually are. I don't know Russ as well as other people, but revealing stuff like this is why I respect him.

I know russ got mad haters but him dedicating his music to putting out one song a week for years and years and staying indy is insane work ethic, crazy track record and creative process, he knows signed artists can't call bs cause they gonna get blackballed from growing. I always respected russ and this is another W for being real, idk how people don't see how labels hurt artists in the long run but its obvious. You get a check to get a chain and some whips then you gotta meet a quota like ion get it fr

He's right. The gatekeeping is unreal. They've been doing it for decades, and they lock talented artists out with it at unreal rates. They certainly destroyed my career. I used to have over 10k fans. All gone, deals gone, plays gone, everything gone. They sabotaged my marketing, so I was always shadow banned across platforms. All my reach just disappeared, and legitimate plays were removed as fake even though they had corresponding comments. They even claimed some of my original music and got strikes against my channel. Back then, you get a strike, even if you prove the content was yours, the strike didn't come off for some people. I was one of those unlucky people, so I stopped uploading.

As an indie artist, I ain’t concerned. The false idols will fall soon enough. I keep doin my thing and keeping my nose to the grind. I ain’t worried. Shit’s lowkey getting biblical tho with how many artists have been exposed this year. 😮

It's obvious when I see comments mentioning "authentic views" in a sentence.

No wonder Cardi B hasn’t went on tour after all these years, all her streams and followers are fake to make her look poppin

Shout out to the indies doing real numbers 🙌🏽