An anonymous artist has been raking in billions of streams under hundreds of names on Spotify, and it has made them Sweden's most listened-to living artist.
But it's not Abba, or Robyn, or Swedish House Mafia. It's not even uber-producer Max Martin. His name is Johan Röhr, and he's currently Sweden's top-ranking, living Spotify artist -- even if you can't search him by name on the app.
According to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN), Röhr is a Stockholm-based musician who has used some 650 artist names on the popular streaming service. His streaming stats surpass 15 billion cumulative plays, making him among the 100 most-streamed artists globally, even above internationally acclaimed artists like Michael Jackson, Elton John, or Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull.
[Note that although DN and other sources are calling Röhr "Sweden's most listened to" artist on Spotify, Music Times is making the distinction that he is Sweden's most listened-to living artist. If Röhr 's collective streams come in at 15 billion, that would rank him at No. 65 overall, directly behind No. 64, Swedish DJ and producer Avicii, who has nearly 15.5 billion streams, according to ChartMasters. Avicii, who is best known for his mega-hit "Wake Me Up," died in 2018 at age 28.]
The DN report alleges that Röhr accomplished this by releasing more than 2,700 tunes on Spotify under "50 composer aliases and at least 656 invented artist names," such as Maya Åström, Minik Knudsen, Mingmei Hsueh, and Csizmazia Etel.
Digital Music News reports that though Röhr had not responded to requests for comment, "his record label Overtone Studios called him a 'pioneer in the mood music genre,' confirming that Röhr released music under multiple names."
Mood music, which is often instrumental, is popular with users who want innocuous background music while working or studying, and Röhr appears to be thriving in that sweet spot. Much of his streamed content is in categories labeled "peaceful piano," "stress relief," and "calm."
"There is an increased interest in functional music created to enhance everyday activities such as relaxation, focus, or studying, and these playlists are created to match the listeners' demand," a Spotify spokesperson told The Guardian. "This type of music typically exists in Spotify's Focus hub which limits competition with artists from traditional genres of popular music. As listeners' demand for functional music for relaxation, focus or studying has grown, more artists and record labels are also choosing to produce this type of content."
Röhr is a professional composer, producer, songwriter, and session musician who has contributed to countless music productions beyond his those counted under his pseudonyms.
