As we have seen in the dynamically changing music industry, the credibility of the streams is always in the spotlight. Recently, Nigeria’s music sensation Wizkid, fondly called Big Wiz, got entangled in an issue that may lead to his possible withholding from playing his music on Apple Music. This is due to accusations of increasing the stream counts for his latest song, which includes “Kese (Dance),” which continues to trigger debate among his followers and critics.
When released on November 15, 2024, “Kese (Dance)” quickly topped Apple Music Nigeria Top 100 charts upon release, proving Wizkid’s popularity and the expectations of his album, “Morayo.” Yet, no more than several days later, it was gone completely out of the top 100, which made the fans puzzled and wonder what might have led to such decisions.
For a song like ‘Kese (Dance),’ which recently tumbled down the charts as fast as it rose up, it’s not abnormal to assume that illegal stream bolstering might have played a role. On this, reports reveal that the considerable reduction in streams is in line with penalties that Apple Music puts on artists who are involved in such tactics. Streaming manipulation, also known as “stream farming,” means the action of artificially increasing play counts in various ways, distorting the charts.
Industry players have said that Apple Music has been more aggressive in recent times to curb such practices. A music industry analyst commented on this by saying, ”The platform has clearly indicated that they will not condone any act of manipulation.’ “If these allegations are established to be correct, severe consequences for Wizkid may occur.”
‘Who would think Big Wiz would do such a thing?’ one of the fans exclaimed. “I personally never expected Wizkid to employ such strategies, and it will be sad to see the artist reduce himself to such tactics.” another fan noted
Others expressed their disappointment with comments such as, “I’ve always looked up to Wizkid, but if he’s inflating numbers, that’s just wrong.”
A music journalist noted;
“The competition is fierce, and the stakes are high. Unfortunately, some artists may feel compelled to cheat the system to stay relevant.”
Other articles
