Fraudster jailed for using 10K bots and AI songs to outstream Taylor Swift

A North Carolina man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for running a multi-year scheme that used artificial intelligence to steal millions in music streaming royalties. According to the US Department of Justice, 54-year-old Michael Smith used thousands of fraudulent accounts and software-driven bots to continuously stream machine-generated songs across platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

Operating undetected since 2017, Smith created hundreds of thousands of tracks and distributed billions of automated streams to avoid triggering platform alarms. In April 2023 alone, his fake tracks accumulated 80.9 million streams, vastly outpacing Taylor Swift's catalog during the same period. The DOJ stated that the scheme diluted overall royalty pools, harming legitimate artists and streaming services alike.

Beyond his prison term, a federal court ordered Smith to forfeit over $8 million. Defense lawyers argued that Smith was being unfairly singled out for wider industry flaws and requested probation, noting he was sorry and had an audio production job lined up. Prosecutors countered that Smith used deceptive tactics and lied to investigators, necessitating a strict penalty for deterrence.