Artists, record labels, songwriters, and the teams behind them deserve confidence in the companies handling their music. That includes knowing who can upload content, how rights are checked, and what happens when suspicious activity appears. At Symphonic, protecting that trust is an ongoing responsibility, supported by the safeguards we have in place and the industry initiatives we help advance.
We support IFPI’s Streaming Integrity Initiative and are a founding member of the Music Fights Fraud Alliance (MFFA), where we also participate in its task forces. These commitments build on work already underway at Symphonic and reflect our belief that protecting music requires ongoing cooperation across the industry.
In this article, I want to share why I believe stronger industry standards are essential to protecting artists and their music, how we’re putting those beliefs into practice at Symphonic, and where I think the industry needs to do more.
Strengthening the Fight Against Streaming Fraud
IFPI launched the Streaming Integrity Initiative on September 14, 2026, with Symphonic among its initial supporters. It establishes a shared baseline for distributors to verify customers and rights, review content for potential abuse, investigate and address suspected fraud, exchange intelligence where legally permitted, and continually improve safeguards. These are practical responsibilities that help protect the income and work of legitimate artists. (Read IFPI’s announcement here.)
The need is clear. Manipulated streams can divert money from legitimate rights holders and undermine confidence in the services that connect music with fans. For an independent artist or label, that can mean less revenue available to fund the next release. We welcome broader adoption of these standards and the attention they are receiving across the industry. Music Business Worldwide’s coverage reflects that growing focus on distributor accountability.
Our participation in this work predates the latest announcement. MFFA was established in 2023 to bring companies together against streaming fraud. Through the alliance, we contribute alongside others working toward a fairer music market. (Learn about MFFA here.)
MFFA’s four task forces focus on detection, prevention, mitigation, and enforcement. Its partnership with the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance supports intelligence sharing and coordinated efforts to identify and disrupt fraud. This kind of cooperation is essential, as abuse can cross company and platform boundaries. Sharing useful information responsibly helps the industry respond beyond a single account or service. (Explore MFFA’s initiatives here.)
How Symphonic Protects Artists and Their Music
At Symphonic, this work also takes place throughout the distribution process.
Our dedicated Trust & Safety team works with several safeguards already in place, including:
- Identity verification through iDenfy before release submission, with a defined account owner responsible for activity.
- Two-factor authentication, optional passkeys, and configurable collaborator permissions to help protect accounts and sensitive information.
- Rights documentation requirements, artist watchlists, and metadata checks to address unauthorized content and misleading submissions.
- Audio fingerprinting through ACRCloud for every submitted song, helping identify potential rights issues.
- Consumption monitoring and content integrity controls, with enforcement options including release rejection, removal, account restrictions, and termination.
- Payment and tax verification through Tipalti before clients can receive payments.
Our StreamSafe feature also gives clients visibility into streams identified as artificial and excluded from royalties by DSPs that provide that information. This can help clients examine promotional activity and share relevant information with us. These measures, along with our founding MFFA membership, are detailed on our Trust & Safety page.
These checks help establish accountability for releases.
We want artists and labels to understand our requirements and feel equipped to meet them.
Holding Music Distributors Accountable
The industry’s response to streaming fraud must also examine the businesses through which music reaches streaming services.
As I recently discussed in Music Business Worldwide, AI makes it easier to build convincing distribution software without necessarily building the operational capabilities that distribution requires. A polished website or dashboard can conceal gaps in rights review, royalty processing, compliance, and fraud prevention.
As generative AI becomes more accessible, it also introduces new challenges for fraud prevention. Bad actors can use these tools to generate large volumes of content, impersonate artists, and attempt to manipulate streaming platforms. Distributors need processes in place to identify and address these risks while continuing to support legitimate creativity.
At Symphonic, we prohibit unauthorized impersonation, misleading metadata, abusive mass uploads, and attempts to manipulate streaming or royalty systems. These standards apply to all content, including music created using AI.
For more information on our policies around AI-generated music and artist rights, read Symphonic’s approach to generative AI.
We also believe DSPs and organizations that grant or facilitate access to direct DSP agreements should assess distributors’ operational capabilities carefully.
That scrutiny should include who operates a business, how it reviews customers and catalogs, and how it handles abuse. New companies can bring valuable ideas and serve overlooked communities. Requiring operational readiness helps those businesses enter the market responsibly while making it harder for sham distributors to gain access.
Our Commitment to Protecting the Music Ecosystem
For artists, labels, and our partners, our commitment remains the same. We’ll continue strengthening our own processes, contributing to collective efforts, and explaining our requirements as they evolve.
We want creators to spend their time making music and building careers with confidence that their distribution partner takes these responsibilities seriously. Supporting IFPI and MFFA is one part of that commitment.
The daily work behind every release is how we put it into practice.
