Hotkeed Raises Alarm Over Streaming Farms, Says Fake Streams Are Hurting Nigerian Artists

Afrobeats singer Hotkeed has raised concerns over the growing use of streaming farms in Nigeria’s music industry, warning that artificial streams could be pushing genuine artists out of the spotlight.

The singer claimed that he knows at least 50 Nigerian artists who allegedly use streaming farms to inflate the number of plays their songs receive on digital music platforms.

Hotkeed made the allegation during a recent interview with content creator Jbrandy, where he explained how artificial streaming could affect artists who rely on genuine listeners to build their careers.

He argued that when artists use streaming farms to boost their numbers, they create an uneven playing field by taking attention and opportunities away from musicians whose streams come from real listeners.

“If 20 artists are stream farming, you have taken 20 genuine artists back. If 50 artists are stream farming, you have taken 50 genuine artists back. It’s that bad,” he said.

Hotkeed also suggested that he could publicly expose some of the artists involved in the practice. He warned that he would reveal the names of colleagues using streaming farms if any of them offended him.

The comments have renewed concerns about the credibility of streaming figures in Nigeria’s rapidly growing music industry, where digital numbers can influence an artist’s visibility, commercial opportunities and industry reputation.