Billion-stream 'ghost artist' exposed: North Carolina man pleads guilty in first-ever AI music fraud case, forfeits $8.1M

It is a feat most Grammy winners never achieve: billions of streams across the world’s largest platforms. But for Michael ...

First US case of AI-driven music streaming royalty fraud ends in guilty plea

A Cornelius man pleaded guilty Thursday to running a music streaming fraud scheme that used artificial intelligence and bot accounts to steal more than $8 million in royalties.

North Carolina Man to Pay $8 Million After Pleading Guilty In First-Ever Streaming Fraud Case

Mike Smith was indicted in 2024 after using AI and bots to generate and stream thousands of songs, siphoning millions of ...
Decrypt

Man Pleads Guilty to Using AI to Generate $8 Million in Fraudulent Streaming Music Royalties

Prosecutors say automated plays of AI-generated songs fraudulently diverted royalties from human artists—to the tune of $8 ...

Mike Smith Pleads Guilty to AI-Assisted Music Streaming Fraud

Mike Smith agreed to return the money he was paid in royalties as he awaits sentencing ...

Musician admits to $10M streaming royalty fraud using AI bots

North Carolina musician Michael Smith has pleaded guilty to collecting over $10 million in royalty payments through a massive ...
Courthouse News Service

Top music body says AI firms guilty of 'willful' copyright theft

People walk past AI signage during the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit in Mumbai, India, on May 2, 2025. (Indranil Aditya / Middle East Images via AFP) PARIS (AFP) — AI companies have sucked ...