AI · 179 days ago
Musician Michael Smith pleaded guilty to fraudulently collecting more than $10 million in streaming royalties using AI-generated tracks and fake streams. He used automated bots and VPNs to inflate billions of plays across Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music from 2017 to 2024.
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The Record from Recorded Future
Man pleads guilty to $8 million AI-generated music scheme
Michael Smith, 54, admitted to inflating streaming numbers for hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs by deploying thousands of fake accounts across major platforms, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music.
Fake AI songs streamed billions of times, netting fraudster $10 million - Help Net Security
Man pleads guilty in fraud case using AI, music streaming bots and generated songs to divert millions in royalties from artists.
Musician admits to $10M streaming royalty fraud using AI bots
North Carolina musician Michael Smith has pleaded guilty to collecting over $10 million in royalty payments through a massive streaming royalty fraud scheme on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.
Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-03-23