Man pleads guilty to $8 million AI-generated music scheme

A North Carolina man, Michael Smith, pleaded guilty to a music streaming fraud that utilized AI and bots to steal over $8 million in royalties. He inflated streaming numbers for AI-generated songs on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music using thousands of fake accounts. Smith collaborated with an AI music company executive to build a massive catalog of computer-generated tracks. Between 2017 and 2024, automated software directed bots to play these songs billions of times. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, “Although the songs and listeners were fake, the millions of dollars Smith stole were real.” He faces up to five years in prison.