Home / Crime and Justice / AI Music Fraudster Sentenced to 18 Months
AI Music Fraudster Sentenced to 18 Months
7 Oct
Summary
- Michael Smith used AI bots to stream fake music, earning $8 million.
- He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for music royalty fraud.
- This was the Justice Department's first AI music streaming fraud case.
Michael Smith, 54, of Cornelius, N.C., received an 18-month prison sentence for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded music streaming platforms and artists of millions. The Justice Department's inaugural case concerning AI-assisted music streaming fraud saw Smith ordered to forfeit over $8 million in royalties.
Beginning in 2017, Smith purchased email addresses to create thousands of bot accounts. He then used AI to generate music, including tracks with names like "Zygotic Washstands" by "Callous Post," and employed software to stream these songs in loops. This tactic generated billions of streams, at times utilizing up to 10,000 bot accounts concurrently.
Smith's calculated earnings projected substantial daily royalties, estimating over $1.2 million annually. By June 2019, his monthly royalty income reached approximately $110,000, with a portion shared among co-conspirators. In 2024, he boasted of achieving four billion streams and $12 million in royalties since 2019.
Prosecutors highlighted the stark contrast between Smith's bot activity and legitimate artist streams. In April 2023, Taylor Swift's entire catalog garnered 9.3 million streams on YouTube Music, while Smith's bots streamed his music over 80 million times that same month using family plans.
