26th January 2021 – IFPI, representing the recording industry worldwide, and its German national group, BVMI, announced today that the Regional Court of Frankfurt has issued an injunction against the Germany-based operator of likeservice24.de, a widely-used website engaged in illicit music streaming manipulation services.

The injunction prevents the operator from offering artificial ‘plays’ or ‘views’ of streams on digital service providers as well as fake ‘comments’, ‘likes’ and ‘subscribers’ in connection with music content.

This is the latest in a series of injunctions resulting from recording industry actions in Germany and Brazil coordinated by IFPI and local industry bodies. In Germany, the efforts led to preliminary injunctions by several regional courts against the operators of six streaming manipulation services in March, 2020 and August, 2020. In 2019, a music industry coalition signed a voluntary code of best practice to tackle the practice of streaming manipulation globally.

IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore, said: “This is yet another positive decision in a series issued by the German courts supporting the recording industry’s ongoing fight against streaming manipulation globally. IFPI and its industry partners remain committed to tackling this harmful practice, which not only deprives artists, songwriters and other rights holders of their rightful compensation, but also misleads music fans.”

Dr. Florian Drücke, Chairman & CEO of BVMI added: “Whilst we don’t know the specific steps that the streaming services themselves are taking on their platforms to directly prevent this activity, for our part, we are taking legal actions 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. On behalf of music creators and fans alike, we will not accept that.”