Tackling Music Streaming’s $300 Million (Or More) Fraud Problem

This week, Canadian Musician Editor-in-Chief Mike Raine is joined by Morgan Hayduk and Andrew Batey, co-founders and co-CEOs of Beatdapp, a Canada-based company that is tackling the huge issue of streaming fraud. Morgan and Andrew reveal why they think the common estimate of $300 million per year in lost royalties is actually too conservative when it comes to music streaming fraud, and how their team of data scientist and engineers uses cross-platform analysis to expose fraudulent streams in the DSPs’ data. They also discuss how the fraudsters are operating, why it’s nearly impossible for a streaming service to find all fraudulent streams on their own, and the delicate politics involved in tackling the problem. This is a fascinating and important conversation that impacts everyone involved in the business of music rights.