Man Illegally Uses AI To Create Songs, Earn Over $8M In Royalties
Man Illegally Uses AI To Create Songs, Earn Over $8M In Royalties
https://brobible.com/culture/article/ai-create-songs-inflate-streaming-earn-royalties/
Publish Date: 2026-03-20 15:30:00
Source Domain: brobible.com
- Expert concerns about the misuse of advanced AI have materialized in the first-ever AI-streaming fraud case in the United States.
- Michael Smith allegedly used AI to produce hundreds of thousands of songs and employed automated bots to stream these billions of times, illegally earning over $8 million in royalties.
- Smith dispersed automated streams across thousands of tracks to avoid suspicion and utilized AI music technology, random names for songs and artists to disguise the AI origin.
- Authorities uncovered Smith’s scheme, led to his prosecution for wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.
- In November 2024, Michael Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and agreed to pay back $8,091,843.64 in forfeiture, with a potential prison sentence of up to five years.
