American man makes tens of millions of dollars by making fake songs with AI

Recently, a music fraud case involving AI technology in the United States has attracted widespread attention. According to a report by The New York Times on September 5, Michael Smith, a 52-year-old man from North Carolina, is accused of using artificial intelligence technology to make hundreds of thousands of fake songs and upload them to music streaming service platforms.

The prosecution alleges that Smith began implementing this fraud scheme in 2017. He first created thousands of streaming user accounts with a list of email addresses purchased online, and even outsourced the task of creating accounts to accomplices, and ultimately controlled more than 10,000 accounts. Subsequently, he developed a program to play his own music in a loop on different computers, disguising it as individual listeners from different places listening. To avoid platform cheating detection, he also made a large number of fake songs to avoid repeatedly boosting the same track.

Since 2018, Smith has teamed up with the CEO of an AI music production company and a music promoter to upload thousands of songs to streaming platforms every week. The indictment states that as of February 2024, Smith's streaming plays reached 4 billion times, and his royalty income reached 12 million dollars.

The federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York said, "Smith stole millions of dollars in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters and other copyright owners who legally play songs." Smith faces multiple charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. If convicted, each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

This case has caused a strong reaction in the music industry and society. It not only makes people see the risk of AI technology being abused, but also triggers thinking about aspects such as the music industry royalty system and streaming platform supervision. At present, the case is still under further trial, and all sectors are paying attention to its final judgment result and the possible impact on the future development of the music industry.