Michael Smith of North Carolina pleaded guilty Thursday to federal conspiracy charges involving an artificial intelligence music fraud scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice confirms Smith generated thousands of fake songs using AI tools. Automated bots streamed these tracks billions of times across major platforms.
The operation collected over $8 million in royalty payments intended for legitimate artists. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated Smith created the illusion of popularity to steal millions from rights holders. Smith faces up to five years in prison. Sentencing is set for July 29 in the Southern District of New York.
Streaming giants like Spotify and Apple Music pay based on play counts, creating incentives for manipulation. Smith utilized AI to produce hundreds of thousands of tracks, spreading streams to avoid detection systems. He forfeits the illicit gains following a yearslong investigation.