Man indicted in US for writing songs with AI and fraudulent streaming

[Monthly Mixing] US federal prosecutors have indicted a man for allegedly creating hundreds of thousands of songs using AI and fraudulently streaming these tracks billions of times using bots.

According to a US Department of Justice press release, 52-year-old Michael Smith from Cornelius, North Carolina is accused of illegally obtaining over $10 million in revenue through this fraudulent scheme that began in 2017.

Smith is also charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, facing up to 60 years in prison.

The US Attorney stated in the indictment, "Michael Smith fraudulently streamed songs created with artificial intelligence billions of times to steal royalties."

The prosecutor added, "Through this brazen fraud scheme, Smith stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed."

Currently, releasing AI-generated music as official tracks is controversial. AI-generated music based on existing songs could be considered plagiarism. There are also issues around disclosing AI use and obtaining proper permissions when using AI voice models of specific singers.

Smith is accused of creating thousands of accounts on streaming platforms to stream songs. He allegedly used bot accounts to generate about 661,440 streams per day, yielding annual royalties of $1,027,128. At one point, he reportedly operated up to 10,000 bot accounts.

He also allegedly spread streams across thousands of songs to avoid detection by streaming platforms and music distribution companies.

The FBI stated regarding this case, "We remain dedicated to rooting out those who manipulate advanced technology to receive illicit profits and infringe on the genuine artistic talent of others."