A singer from North Carolina, Michael Smith, 52, has been charged with manipulating music streaming platforms by utilizing artificial intelligence and bots to fraudulently inflate his streaming statistics. Authorities claim this innovative approach to deceit is unprecedented in the music industry, as Smith allegedly earned millions in illegal royalties from his deceptive practices. Smith’s charges include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams pointed out that the fraud has resulted in significant financial losses for legitimate musicians, songwriters, and rights holders whose earnings were affected by Smith’s actions.
An unsealed indictment details how Smith distributed hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs across various streaming platforms while using automated bots to stream these tracks, sometimes as many as 10,000 at a time. The investigation, which involved the FBI, revealed that Smith had collaborated with the CEO of an unnamed AI music firm since around 2018. This partnership provided Smith with thousands of AI-generated tracks each month in exchange for metadata and a share of the streaming earnings. An email from March 2019 outlined the intent behind their operation, referring to their product as “instant music” and acknowledging the minimal effort required to create large volumes of content using AI.
Smith reportedly boasted in a February email that his AI-generated tracks accumulated over 4 billion streams and $12 million in royalties since 2019. If found guilty, Smith faces a substantial prison sentence for these charges. This case is not isolated; a Danish man received an 18-month sentence earlier this year for a similar scheme. Major platforms like Spotify and Apple Music are constantly working to eliminate the use of bots and artificial streams, as they threaten the integrity of the industry.
The growing use of AI in music creation raises concerns regarding copyright infringement and the potential displacement of traditional musicians. High-profile artists have called for industry-wide action against the exploitative use of AI-generated content.