A North Carolina musician named Michael Smith was arrested and charged with using artificial intelligence to create hundreds of thousands of songs that he streamed billions of times to collect over $10 million in royalty payments, according to authorities in New York. Smith’s fraud cheated musicians and songwriters of royalty money between 2017 and this year. He streamed songs created with artificial intelligence billions of times in order to steal royalties. Smith created thousands of accounts on streaming platforms to stream songs continuously, generating about 661,000 streams per day and yielding annual royalties of $1.2 million.
Smith utilized automatic features to repeatedly stream the music to generate unlawful royalties, according to Christie M. Curtis, who leads New York’s FBI office. The FBI remains dedicated to identifying individuals who manipulate advanced technology to receive illicit profits and infringe on the genuine artistic talent of others. Smith used artificial intelligence to create tens of thousands of songs so that his fake streams would not alert streaming platforms and music distribution companies that a fraud was underway. He collaborated with the chief executive of an artificial intelligence music company and a music promoter to create the songs, boasting about generating over four billion streams and $12 million in royalties since 2019.
An indictment in Manhattan federal court stated that Smith’s fraudulent scheme involved streaming songs to generate royalties from a pool that streaming platforms are required to set aside for artists who stream sound recordings embodying musical compositions. The indictment revealed that Smith initially denied allegations of fraud when a music distribution company suggested it in 2018, claiming there was no fraud happening. The indictment also disclosed that Smith had generated over $12 million in royalties from the fraudulent scheme since 2019. The charges against Smith carry a potential penalty of up to 60 years in prison, and he has not yet provided a comment on the accusations through his lawyer.
Authorities are cracking down on individuals like Smith who use artificial intelligence to manipulate streaming platforms and generate profits dishonestly. The manipulation of advanced technology to receive illicit profits threatens the livelihood of genuine artists and songwriters who rely on their work for income. Smith’s fraudulent activities highlight the need for increased oversight and surveillance of streaming platforms to prevent such scams from occurring in the future. The indictment provides details about how Smith utilized artificial intelligence to create fraudulent streams and generate millions in royalties, demonstrating the sophistication of his scheme and the need for vigilance in detecting and preventing similar frauds.
