A report earlier this week on Vulture headlined “The Streaming Problem: How Spammers, Superstars, and Tech Giants Gamed the Music Industry” made serious allegations against Spotify, claiming the streaming service was paying producers to create songs under fake names that were then put on premium playlists to generate money for the service.
The article included the allegation that, "This upfront payment saves the company from writing fat streaming checks that come with that plum playlist placement, but tricks listeners into thinking the artists actually exist and limits the opportunities for real music-makers to make money."
If true, the actions of the world's largest music streaming service -- with some 140 million active users -- would seem highly unethical, if not illegal, since putting out music under false pretenses to line your own pockets could constitute fraud.