Musicians from the Rolling Stones to up-and-coming pop star Bella Kay have one thing in common: Influencers are being paid to promote their songs (npr.org/2026/07/13/nx-s1-5849926/influencers-paid-music-promotion) .  On today's show: Who is an industry plant and why does it matter? Fact checking by Tyler Jones.  Your Next Listen  — Two Indicators: the influencer industry (lnk.to/1oGtIcWE) Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter (npr.org/indicatornewsletter) !  — Buy the Planet Money book (lnk.to/i3AukBdDWE)   — Find our socials, YouTube and more (linktr.ee/indicator_npr) ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ (plus.npr.org) Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org (plus.npr.org) . See pcm.adswizz.com (pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our ...