Botters, scammers, or whatever you want to call them, will do what they can to make fast money. That even includes using celebrities as big as Drake for bait. According to Billboard, that's exactly what is happening with the Toronto rapper.
It's worth noting that this isn't exclusive to him, though. It's happening to a plethora of big-time performers. Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Billie Eilish are in the top three for most impersonated artists online. Drake placed tenth on the list.
Per Spikerz, the social media security company who released all of this information, reveals what these accounts are promising fans. Fake tickets, merch, VIP experiences, and meet-and-greets barely begin to scratch the surface of what they are weaponizing.
Additionally, they share that one in five concert tickets sold over social media was fake or part of a phishing attack. Tallying up all of those counterfeit items have cost fans an alarming $5.3 billion this year.
This epidemic hitting the music industry is being carried out in part through artificial intelligence to mimic artists' voices (like Drake's). Overall, it makes it nearly impossible for the fans of these musicians to detect what's real and what's not.
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Scott Cohen, The Orchard co-founder and advisor for Spikerz, is pro artist and speaks to how a safer social media climate is paramount so that fans and the talents themselves can communicate with one another.
"Social platforms have become the most important connection point between artists and their audiences, and therefore, the most vulnerable. If we want artists to innovate and experiment, we have to give them digital environments where they’re not constantly under attack."
The Spikerz report carries that same sentiment. "When fans are duped by a fake account into buying non-existent merch, tickets, or experiences, the artist not only loses revenue, but suffers a blow to reputation that undermines future sales and engagement. The resulting brand damage can reduce the value of sponsorships, collaborations, and label partnerships."
That message carries a lot of weight for Drake especially seeing as that he was mentioned in a recent Spotify lawsuit.
While he's not a target, the federal class-action filing does put into question how much of his streams are real.
