Jakarta, ThedailyID — A US man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for using AI-generated music and thousands of automated accounts to commit streaming royalty fraud. His scheme generated more than $8 million in royalties by making artificial streams appear legitimate.
In April 2023, his bot accounts generated 80.9 million plays through YouTube Music’s family plan. By comparison, Taylor Swift’s catalog recorded 9.3 million plays through the same plan during that month, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
Michael Smith, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on March 19, 2026. The DOJ announced his sentence in a press release on October 6.
“By flooding music streaming platforms with automated bots instead of consumers, and fake songs instead of creativity, Smith stole millions of dollars in royalty payments from real artists and their fans,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald said.
The fraud scheme ran from 2017 to 2024. According to the DOJ, Smith created thousands of fake accounts on music streaming platforms. He then used software to play tracks he claimed as his own repeatedly.
As a result, the platforms paid him royalties for streams that never came from genuine listeners. At times, Smith operated as many as 10,000 bot accounts simultaneously.
To create these accounts, he allegedly used fake email addresses and debit cards obtained through fraud. He also spread automated plays across thousands of tracks. This approach helped him avoid detection by preventing unusual streaming spikes on individual songs.
Meanwhile, AI technology allowed Smith to produce hundreds of thousands of tracks. His bot network then played the songs billions of times, generating more than $8 million in royalties, the DOJ said.
The scheme also affected legitimate musicians and songwriters. Streaming royalties typically come from a shared pool of money, with payments distributed according to listening activity. Therefore, fake streams can divert royalty payments away from artists whose music people actually hear.
In addition to the 18-month prison sentence, Smith received two years of supervised release. The court also ordered him to forfeit $8,091,843.64 in criminal proceeds.
The case highlights how AI-generated content and automated accounts can be exploited to manipulate digital music platforms. Although AI can help artists produce music, fraudulent streaming activity can undermine the royalty system that supports legitimate creators.
