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AI Music Streaming Fraud: Musician Gets 18 Months for $8M Scheme - TechRepublic

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A North Carolina musician has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for using AI-generated songs and automated listening accounts to collect more than $8 million in fraudulent streaming royalties. His operation generated billions of fake plays across major music platforms between 2017 and 2024, according to the US Department of Justice.

Michael Smith, 54, of Cornelius, North Carolina, received the sentence on October 6, 2026, after pleading guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. By spreading automated plays across hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs, Smith made suspicious listening patterns harder to detect while collecting royalties at the expense of legitimate rights holders.

How AI-generated songs fueled the fraud

Smith targeted services including Spotify,...

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How AI-generated songs fueled the fraud

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