Allegations Arise: AI and Bots Used to Manipulate Music Streaming Numbers
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A singer from the United States has been accused of manipulating music streaming platforms using AI technologies and bots to fraudulently inflate his stream statistics and earn millions of dollars in royalties.
Michael Smith, 52, from North Carolina, faces charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the BBC, authorities allege that this is the first time AI has been used to allow such a large-scale streaming scam. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasised the scope of the fraud, claiming that Smith took millions of dollars in royalties that should have gone to real musicians, songwriters and rights holders.
An indictment made public accuses Smith of distributing large volumes of AI-created music on various streaming platforms. It is alleged that Smith used bots to play the songs, at times activating as many as 10,000 simultaneously. Over the years, this scheme reportedly generated over $10 million in unlawful royalties.
The FBI was pivotal in uncovering the operation. Christie M. Curtis, the acting assistant director, asserted that the FBI is committed to pursuing individuals exploiting technology for illicit gains and disadvantaging genuine artists.
The indictment reports that in 2018, Smith began collaborating with the CEO of an AI music company, who remains unnamed. This partner allegedly supplied Smith with several thousand AI-generated tracks each month. In return, Smith provided track details like song titles and artist names and shared the proceeds from streaming.
A particular email from March 2019 between Smith and the CEO reveals details of the scheme. In this email, the CEO referred to their product not as “music” but as “instant music,” highlighting the ease and the deceptive intent of producing vast amounts of music content via AI. The indictment also mentions that the technology advanced over time, complicating the identification of fraudulent activity by streaming services.
In a recent communication from February, Smith claimed that his AI-produced music had garnered over 4 billion streams and generated $12 million in royalties since 2019. Smith could face substantial prison time if found guilty of the charges against him.
The Smith case is but one example within a broader issue of fraudulent music streaming royalties. Earlier in the year, a case in Denmark concluded with an 18-month prison sentence for a similar offense. Streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube strictly prohibit the use of bots and fake streams to inflate royalty counts. This unfair practice is both disruptive and illegal, leading to platforms implementing stringent policies. For instance, Spotify penalizes labels or distributors when artificial streaming is identified, ensuring royalties are only paid on streams that fulfill specific conditions.
Despite these measures, the rise of AI-created music poses significant challenges for the music industry. There is growing concern among musicians and labels about potential losses in revenue and exposure due to AI technologies that can produce music, text, and images, sometimes exploiting content shared online by artists without permission, sparking copyright debates.
This issue became particularly contentious in 2023 when an AI-created song imitating well-known artists like Drake and The Weeknd gained widespread attention, leading to its removal from streaming platforms. Earlier this year, renowned artists including Billie Eilish, Elvis Costello, and Aerosmith voiced their concerns by signing an open letter that called for the music industry to tackle the unethical use of AI in content creation.
(Photo credit to Israel Palacio via Unsplash)
See also: Whitepaper dispels fears of AI-induced job losses
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Tags: ai, apple, artificial intelligence, Spotify
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