A Composer Behind 650 Fake Artists on Spotify Finally Unmasked

Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) uncovered Johan Röhr, a Swedish-based musician, as the creator behind more than 650 artists on Spotify. Overall, Röhr’s music generated more than 15 billion cumulative streams, making him Sweden’s most-streamed artist and one of the most successful artists globally. In fact, he is estimated to rank #64 in the top 100 most-streamed artists list, just below Avicii and above the American rock band Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

As the 47-year-old composer revealed to the newspaper, he has created more than 2,700 songs on the platform released under a variety of pseudonyms, including ‘Maya Åström,’ ‘Minik Knudsen,’ ‘Mingmei Hsueh,’ and ‘Csizmazia Etel.’ He has specialized in relaxation and background music, and many of his tracks have been featured in Spotify’s official instrumental playlists.

DN has not revealed the amount of money Röhr has generated through his music on Spotify, and Röhr, too, declined to comment on the matter. What’s clear, however, is that he has gained incredible success with his craft on Spotify and is regarded as a “pioneer in the mood music genre,” per a statement from his record label Overtone Studios. He is also said to have significantly reduced the number of artist profiles through which he’s been actively releasing music, leaving more space for other artists in the genre.