Michael Smith, man behind $8M AI song and bot streaming fraud, sentenced to 18 months in prison - Music Business Worldwide
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Michael Smith has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for a streaming fraud scheme that prosecutors say brought him more than USD $8 million in royalties. US District Judge John G. Koeltl handed down the sentence in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday (October 6), the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced. Smith, 54, of Cornelius, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Global recorded music trade body IFPI said in a statement today (October 7): “This result sends a clear message that streaming fraud is a crime and has serious consequences. But enforcement is only one part of tackling streaming fraud – we also need to prevent, detect and disrupt fraudulent activity. “The global music industry is collectively doing just that through the Streaming Integrity Initiative which protects artists, rightsholders and fans and strengthens trust in streaming.”According to prosecutors, between 2017 and 2024 Smith used thousands of fake accounts on services including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music to stream hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs billions of times.
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