From Dexerto · Cande Maldonado · · 1m 10s
Man sentenced to prison after pocketing $8 million from AI songs
Man sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing $8 million in AI song royalties.
In brief
Man sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing $8 million in AI song royalties. A North Carolina man received 18 months in prison for pocketing $8.09 million in royalties from AI-generated songs streamed by bots. Originally reported by Dexerto.
Man sentenced to prison after pocketing $8 million from AI songs
A North Carolina man siphoned millions in royalties from Spotify and its rivals with songs no human wrote, played to listeners who never existed.
Judge sentences fraudster to 18 months in prison
Judge John G. Koeltl sentenced Michael Smith, 54, to 18 months in prison on October 6, along with two years of supervised release and an $8,091,843.64 forfeiture.
Smith ran 10,000 bot accounts using AI songs
Smith ran as many as 10,000 bot accounts at once, propped up by fake emails and fraudulently obtained debit cards.
Bots streamed AI songs for 80.9 million plays
In April 2023 alone, his bots masqueraded as family-plan subscribers on YouTube Music for 80.9 million streams, while Taylor Swift’s entire catalogue pulled 9.3 million on the same plans.
The big picture
A North Carolina man received 18 months in prison for pocketing $8.09 million in royalties from AI-generated songs streamed by bots.
