A North Carolina man is accused of a $10 million fraud scheme using artificial intelligence to create fake music.
Michael Smith, 52, allegedly created hundreds of thousands of fake songs by nonexistent bands and uploaded them to streaming services. He then used bots to play these songs repeatedly, mimicking real listeners.
Smith started by uploading his own music, but then moved on to using AI to create tracks en masse. He generated plausible names for songs and artists to avoid detection. By 2019, Smith was earning about $110,000 a month in royalties.
Prosecutors say the scheme ran from 2017 to 2024. Smith faces charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Michael Smith, 52, allegedly created hundreds of thousands of fake songs by nonexistent bands and uploaded them to streaming services. He then used bots to play these songs repeatedly, mimicking real listeners.
Smith started by uploading his own music, but then moved on to using AI to create tracks en masse. He generated plausible names for songs and artists to avoid detection. By 2019, Smith was earning about $110,000 a month in royalties.
Prosecutors say the scheme ran from 2017 to 2024. Smith faces charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison.