Traders Push Malcolm Todd Song to Spotify No. 1, Turning 2.5% Kalshi Odds Into 20x Payouts
Updated
Updated · EL PAÍS USA · Aug 9
Traders Push Malcolm Todd Song to Spotify No. 1, Turning 2.5% Kalshi Odds Into 20x Payouts
1 articles · Updated · EL PAÍS USA · Aug 9
Summary
More than 500,000 bot streams helped push Malcolm Todd’s “Earrings” to No. 1 on Spotify’s U.S. chart after a 70% one-day jump, with Kalshi bets already settled before Spotify corrected the ranking.
June 28 trading activity on Kalshi tipped off trader Caleb Davies, who spotted unusual bets on Spotify chart outcomes; Spotify removed suspicious streams from two songs quickly but initially missed a third.
The scheme marks a shift in streaming fraud: instead of inflating plays mainly for royalties or algorithmic lift, outsiders can now profit directly by treating chart positions as speculative assets.
Spotify says it does not pay royalties on fraudulent streams and has asked Kalshi and Polymarket to remove its logo, but industry figures say the music-betting overlap falls between platform oversight and financial regulation.
The case lands amid broader concern over industrialized fake streaming and prediction markets: Deezer says AI tracks now dominate new uploads, and Spain in May 2026 moved to block Kalshi and Polymarket as unauthorized gambling.