Spotify has removed approximately 750,000 independent tracks over alleged "artificial stream" violations, prompting over 5,000 indie artists to sign a "Restore Our Music" petition demanding reinstatement of their music.

The mass removal affected artists across all distributors, including DistroKid, which has a minority investment from Spotify. According to Spotify's terms, using third-party promotional services that promise streams for payment violates their conditions and can result in music removal.

Many affected artists claim they never used fake streaming services, yet their music was still removed. Buffalo-based artist Dylan Toole initiated the petition, which has gathered over 5,100 signatures. Some impacted artists report having tracks with minimal plays (as few as 5 plays monthly) removed without justification.

While some music is being restored - like Dylan Toole's "Cold Hearted Love Story" album which is now fully available again - others remain blocked. Manchester-based Heavy Salad reported no response from Spotify or DistroKid after two weeks of counterclaims, with their catalog reduced from nine to seven singles.

DistroKid has introduced a counter-notification form for artists to appeal removals. Their CEO Philip Kaplan confirmed these takedowns were "distributor-agnostic" and affected music from all distributors, not just DistroKid.

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