North Carolina musician charged by federal prosecutors for manipulating streaming services to increase royalties.
Michael Smith, a 52-year-old man from North Carolina, has been accused of committing fraud by using artificial intelligence to create fake songs and fake bands. He allegedly uploaded these songs to streaming services and used bots to play them billions of times, resulting in him earning $10 million in stolen royalty payments over seven years.
The federal indictment against Smith, which was unsealed on Wednesday, accuses him of stealing royalties from digital streaming platforms. The indictment states that Smith, a real-life musician, used A.I.-generated music under artist names like “Callous Post,” “Calorie Screams,” and “Calvinistic Dust.” These fake bands produced songs such as “Zygotic Washstands,” “Zymotechnical,” and “Zygophyllum” that were popular on Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify.
According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Smith’s actions deprived legitimate musicians, songwriters, and rights holders of royalties that should have been rightfully paid to them. Smith has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each charge if convicted.
As of Wednesday, it was not immediately clear who was representing Smith legally, and he could not be reached for comment at his residence in Cornelius, N.C., located near Charlotte.
Source: The NY Times
