Marc Mysterio Details Steps for Amazon Music To End Shadowban using AWS Athena

/EIN News/ -- NEW YORK, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Irish-Canadian Billboard-charting artist Marc Mysterio, known for collaborations with Avicii, Flo Rida, David Guetta, Crash Test Dummies, and Samantha Fox, as well as his work with Netflix’s “Trailer Park Boys”, has taken a bold step in his lawsuit against Amazon Music (Case No. 1:25-cv-01705, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York).

Mysterio has now publicly disclosed technical instructions for an Amazon engineer to investigate and disable the shadowban suppressing his music (ASIN: B0041A1P4U) since September 2024 directly to Amazon Music, via Amazon Music for Artists Support Chat, but according to his Post on X directed to @amazonmusic the requests have been ignored, and he has posted proof @marc_mysterio

On or about Sept. 10, 2024, Mysterio’s Amazon Music station, “My Marc Mysterio Mix,” stopped functioning, with zero songs appearing. By Sept. 25, 2024, his streams dropped from 80 million to zero, including 3.7 million from Taylor Swift’s station, and his 1.25 million fans could no longer access his content, and the artist page was temporarily removed on September 17th, 2024 so that Amazon could implement the Shadowban.

Mysterio asserts that a metadata attack targeted his ASIN.

The attack caused financial loss from 80 million streams to zero, with damages in the millions, and reputational harm as his fanbase dropped from 1.25 million to below 800,000 fans, losing more than 4,000 daily.

A four-part YouTube series on http://shadowban.me/ shows a system errors on his station, unlike Neon Tom (zero followers) and Taylor Swift’s stations, which function normally, and his Amazon Curated Playlist without any Marc Mysterio songs (because they’re undetectable).

“The Amazon Curation team is likely in the dark about this as well,” Mysterio notes.

Mysterio’s investigation indicates his metadata was deleted via an IF-MATCH operation in S3. In Amazon S3, metadata organizes songs but is vulnerable to manipulation (see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/UsingMetadata.html).

Situation

On or about September 10, 2024, Mr. Mysterio’s Amazon Music station (“My Marc Mysterio Mix”) ceased functioning, with zero of his 50 songs appearing, despite prior performance of 225,463 streams. By September 25, 2024, his total streams dropped to zero, and his 1.25 million fans could no longer access his content via stations, playlists, or Alexa voice requests. This is where he asserts a deliberate metadata attack targeted his ASIN, rendering his "Primary Artist Level Metadata" invisible and, thus, unidentifiable as a Marc Mysterio song for Amazon Artist Stations and Playlists, including his own. Partial restoration of metadata (e.g., “Related Artists” functionality in March 2025) suggests a reversible issue tied to S3 operations.

Investigate the Alleged Shadowban:

• Analyze S3 Logs Using AWS Athena: Within seven days, execute this query on S3 access logs to identify IF-MATCH operations targeting ASIN B0041A1P4U from June 1, 2024, to April 21, 2025:
  SELECT time, bucket, request_uri, operation, http_headers, remote_ip, requester, request_id, key, etag
  FROM s3_access_logs
  WHERE bucket LIKE '%amazon-music%'
  AND http_headers LIKE '%If-Match%'
  AND request_uri LIKE '%B0041A1P4U%'
  AND operation IN ('REST.DELETE.OBJECT', 'REST.PUT.OBJECT')
  AND time BETWEEN '2024-06-01 00:00:00' AND '2025-04-21 23:59:59'
  ORDER BY time DESC;
  Review results for malicious indicators (e.g., non-Amazon IPs, unknown IAM requesters, DELETE operations on keys like /artist-metadata/B0041A1P4U.json).
• Cross-Reference with CloudTrail Logs: Within seven days, analyze AWS CloudTrail logs for S3 API calls (e.g., DeleteObject, PutObject) with IF-MATCH headers targeting ASIN B0041A1P4U during the same period, identifying the requester’s identity and access method.

Restore Metadata and Functionality:

• Retrieve S3 metadata snapshots from before Aug. 21, 2024, for objects tied to ASIN B0041A1P4U.
• Restore deleted or nullified objects (e.g., /artist-metadata/B0041A1P4U.json) and verify ETag integrity.
• Update Amazon Music’s database to reintegrate restored metadata, ensuring functionality on “My Marc Mysterio Mix” station, curated playlists, related artists, mood-based stations, and Alexa voice recognition for ASIN B0041A1P4U songs.
• Remove any filters (e.g., IF-MATCH or other mechanisms) that delete, mask, or interfere with recognition of ASIN B0041A1P4U songs on Amazon Music stations, playlists, or Alexa.

Provide Confirmation and Logs:

• Within 14 days, file with the court a report detailing: Athena query results with IF-MATCH requests; CloudTrail findings on requester identities; metadata restoration steps; confirmation via Amazon Music for Artists analytics showing restored streams; S3 and CloudTrail log excerpts for ASIN B0041A1P4U confirming the fix; certify filters suppressing ASIN B0041A1P4U are removed.
  

Secure S3 Buckets:

• Audit IAM policies for buckets storing metadata to prevent unauthorized IF-MATCH operations. Enable CloudTrail data events to detect anomalous requests.
  

Technical Basis: IF-MATCH Attack in S3

Our investigation, informed by AWS S3 documentation and In re PersonalWeb Technologies LLC (959 F.3d 1349, Fed. Cir. 2020), indicates that Mr. Mysterio’s metadata, linked to ASIN B0041A1P4U, was deleted or nullified (e.g., set to “-”) via an IF-MATCH conditional operation in S3. Key details:

Mechanism: Amazon Music stores artist metadata (e.g., song titles, ISRC codes, station links) as S3 objects, each with an Entity Tag (ETag) for version control. An IF-MATCH request, such as DELETE /artist-metadata/B0041A1P4U.json?if-match="ETag", targets a specific object version, erasing it if the ETag matches. This could break links to Mr. Mysterio’s content, causing station failures.

Evidence: The abrupt stream drop, absence of songs in his station, and partial metadata restoration are consistent with an S3-based deletion. PersonalWeb confirms S3’s use of IF-MATCH for precise object operations, supporting the feasibility of a targeted attack.

Malicious Indicators: Potential unauthorized access (e.g., non-AWS IP addresses, unknown IAM roles) or high-frequency IF-MATCH DELETE/PUT requests on ASIN B0041A1P4U suggest deliberate intent, distinguishable from routine updates.

Impact

The metadata attack has caused significant harm:

Financial Loss: A decline from 80 million lifetime streams to zero, with estimated damages in the millions, as detailed in the lawsuit.

Reputational Damage: Loss of visibility to 1.25 million fans, undermining Mr. Mysterio’s career.

Operational Disruption: Inability to leverage Amazon Music for Artists analytics, voice requests, and playlist placements.

“Amazon Music’s failure to respond to my support tickets via its Artist’s App is unacceptable and, moreover, is likely an additional breach of contract pertaining to the contractual terms of use for the app,” Mysterio said. “My music is invisible to stations and playlists, including my own, this must end!” Mysterio has called on Taylor Swift to speak out against the shadowban as they share a common friend in AEW’s Jeff Jarrett.

For media inquiries, contact:
Michael H. Joseph, Esq., michael@newyorktriallawyers.org, 555-123-4567

Press Contact:

Ralph Bennett pr@shadowban.me https://veritaseditions.net

Key Facts You Need To Know:

Marc Mysterio Amazon Streaming/Listener Stats

Letter of Preservation of Evidence

Marc Mysterio/Travis Kelce Billboard Article

VMP: Unpacking the Allegations Behind Marc Mysterio's Lawsuit Against Amazon Music: A Shadowban Exposé

@marc_mysterio on X - Career Bio

IBA Boxing Chairman’s Letter

Marc Mysterio on Trailer Park Boys

Marc Mysterio Press-Photo

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b68982a7-3128-44bd-a6d6-9bc42d07e1be

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cfd2afb9-9fab-43e5-b6b6-9a802feb6ce2