- Michael Smith pleaded guilty to AI-driven music fraud involving billions of fake streams
- Smith generated thousands of fake songs and streamed them to earn over $8 million illegally
- He operated from 2017 to 2024, making about $1.03 million annually from fraudulent royalties
In a first successful prosecution of its kind, a US man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a massive artificial intelligence (AI)-driven music fraud. North Carolina resident Michael Smith used AI to produce thousands of music tracks, then deployed automated bots to stream them billions of times, pocketing millions in illegal royalties.
The landmark case highlights the music industry's growing struggle against a wave of AI-generated "fake music" that has begun to overwhelm traditional streaming platforms.
Smith was arrested in September 2024 and charged with multiple offences tied to his fraudulent streaming operations. He is believed to have pocketed over $8 million in royalties by generating up to 661,440 fake streams every day between 2017 and 2024. He managed to pull in an annual income of roughly $1.03 million.
The 52-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud last Friday (Mar 20) before US District Judge John G. Koeltl.
"Michael Smith generated thousands of fake songs using artificial intelligence and then streamed those fake songs billions of times," said US Attorney Jay Clayton.
"Although the songs and listeners were fake, the millions of dollars Smith stole was real. Millions of dollars in royalties that Smith diverted from real, deserving artists and rights holders. Smith's brazen scheme is over, as he stands convicted of a federal crime for his AI-assisted fraud," he added.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Smith now faces up to five years in prison and the forfeiture of $8,091,843.64 when he is sentenced on July 29 by Judge Koeltl.
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AI-Generated Music
The rise of AI has compounded the problems for streaming platforms as well as real artists. Last week, music giant Sony Music stated that it had requested the removal of more than 135,000 songs by fraudsters impersonating its artists on streaming services.
The deepfakes were created using generative AI, and targeted some of the company's biggest acts, who include Beyoncé, Queen and Harry Styles
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