Yo Dre, why aren't you verified on this platform? The answer is, because these platforms lack actual support. They literally let people prey on others and utilize their likeness to scam. Being verified opens the door to a ton of things. My main takeaway would be letting others know I am who I say I am and I have the credentials to back it up. These companies pick and choose who they deem relevant. They also operate on a buddy system which tarnishes the integrity of the program.
Wait what? Stop the press. These social media companies,”Internal Teams”, are incompetent. How is it that I’ve been active in the music industry since 2005 and I’m not verified everywhere or able to get my name? Below I’ll attach some key points as well as dates of “relevancy”, as they call it. These are some of my accolades, but some are omitted due to NDA's.
Commercially releasing music and ghost writing since music is 2005
MTV Artist 2008-2009
Google Knowledge Panel 2010
AllMusic profile created 2011
Spotify Verified 2012
Facebook Verified 2016
Verified everywhere musically Genius, MusixMatch, Shazam, and the list continues
Not to mention all the magazines I’ve been featured or mentioned in (digital and print) since then.
Trust me, you don’t know who I know or who I wrote for. Just know checks cleared.
But can I get verified on Instagram? Nope! Can I get my handle DreWells on Instagram? Nope. The reason being is it was acquired by someone that hasn’t been active since 2013. They literally uploaded a picture of a dog and ghosted the page. Just like on Twitter, the @drewells guy's name is Drew Wells smh. Whenever you search my name, no matter the platform or search engine, you'll literally see 85% me and 15% Dr. Dre.
Instead of customer support actually helping you, they give you vague answers or no response at all. Some even get a bit hostile, like what happened to the customer is always right? So, in order to get things handled, you have to find an alternative route. Thats where knowing someone comes in handy. If you don't, the only other option is the black market, which is sketchy and pricey.
I'm sure, just like me, you all get tons of unsolicited offers in your DM and emails that state I can get you verified. I'm just not about to pay for something that is supposed to be free. Instead of the companies doing their job, they outsource the process. Meta, for instance, has partners that are supposed to help you with your account getting handles and verification, but these people literally will charge you an arm and leg. I've been quoted as low as $600 and as high as $8k. Just scandalous, and downright greedy.
We need better, especially for true, authentic people and public figures. It's way too many pretenders, benefiting off scamming others for their hard-earned money. Trust me, I've been impersonated, hacked, and etc throughout my time in the industry. Being verified helps with brand recognition and lets people know you're valuable in your niche. But will I ever get my verification issues resolved? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z.