AI Music Fraudster Faces 4 Years in Prison for $8M Streams Scam
Feds demand 4 years for AI music fraudster who stole $8M in streams. Court to decide on October 6.
POLICY WIRE — New York, United States — A North Carolina man accused of using artificial intelligence to generate fake music and inflate streaming numbers is facing a potential four-year prison sentence, according to federal prosecutors.
Michael Smith, 54, from Cornelius, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Authorities claim he created hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs and uploaded them to major platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music. He then used thousands of bot accounts to artificially boost the number of streams, generating over $8 million in unauthorized royalties.
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The scheme, which lasted six years, involved massive amounts of fraudulent activity. In April 2023 alone, Smith’s catalog received 80.9 million streams on YouTube Music from family-plan subscribers—nearly nine times the 9.3 million streams generated by Taylor Swift’s entire catalog during the same period. Prosecutors argue that this diversion of funds harmed real artists and songwriters, who are entitled to royalties based on actual listener engagement.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
