German court orders site to end stream manipulation

By Emmanuel Legrand

The Regional Court of Frankfurt has issued an injunction against the Germany-based operator of likeservice24.de, a platform the was accused by international trade body the IFPI and local organisation BVMI of engaging in illicit music streaming manipulation services.

  The operator offered services such as artificial "plays" or "views" of streams on digital service providers as well as fake "comments", "likes' and "subscribers" in connection with music content. In 2020, Germany's regional courts also served preliminary injunctions against the operators of six streaming manipulation services. 

  Florian Drücke, Chairman & CEO of BVMI, said legal action was taken "to ensure that the streaming market functions properly and without manipulation, which harms creators and their partners. Such manipulation damages both the accuracy of royalty payments to music creators and the credibility of a key industry barometer, the charts.”