Man Earns US$10 Million Using AI & Music Streaming Bots
Smith faked music streams on platforms like Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and YouTube Music
Man Earns US$10 Million Using AI & Music Streaming Bots
In a wild scheme that federal authorities are calling “brazen fraud,” a bloke from North Carolina allegedly used artificial intelligence to whip up hundreds of thousands of songs. Then, he streamed them non-stop using bot accounts to rake in over $10 million in dodgy royalty payments.
Michael Smith, a 52-year-old musician, got nabbed on Wednesday, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. He’s facing three criminal charges. Law enforcement officials are saying this is the first case of its kind involving fake music streaming numbers.
FBI Acting Assistant Director Christie M. Curtis in a statement released with the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said:
The defendant’s alleged scheme messed with the integrity of the music industry by trying to dodge the streaming platforms’ rules.
The FBI is all about catching those who misuse advanced tech to make illegal profits and rip off genuine artists.
The statement revealed the indictment against Smith, who lives near Charlotte. Filed in U.S. District Court in New York, it claims that from 2017 to this year, Smith faked music streams on platforms like Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.
It’s not clear who Smith’s lawyer is for a comment on the charges.
Man Earns US$10 Million Using AI & Music Streaming Bots
Streaming subscriptions in the U.S. went up 3% to 99 million in the first half of 2024, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s 2024 Mid-Year Music Industry Revenue Report. During that time, streaming services grew 4% in retail value to a record $7.3 billion.
When a song plays on a streaming platform, the songwriter and musician get small royalty payments, and sometimes other rights holders do too. Smith allegedly banked on those small payments adding up to a big payday if he streamed enough songs.
According to the indictment, Smith emailed two unnamed co-conspirators:
We need to get a TON of songs fast to work around the anti-fraud policies these guys are all using now.
He didn’t want to draw attention by streaming the same song too many times.
Other emails cited by prosecutors include a financial estimate Smith allegedly emailed himself, saying that at a certain point, bot accounts could generate about 661,440 streams per day. The indictment says the emails show that the average royalty per stream was half a cent, which would mean daily royalties of $3,307.20, monthly royalties of $99,216, and annual royalties of $1,207,128.
In Wednesday’s statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:
Smith stole millions in royalties that should have gone to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were genuinely streamed.
