According to prosecutors, a North Carolina resident used artificial intelligence to create hundreds of thousands of fake songs by fictitious bands and uploaded them to streaming services, where they were enjoyed by a fake audience. The musician now faces at least 20 years in prison.

As reported by The New York Times, 52-year-old musician Michael Smith has been charged with fraud related to manipulating streaming services. Prosecutors claim he used neural networks to create hundreds of thousands of fake songs, which he then uploaded to popular platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Through his fraudulent scheme, Smith earned at least $10 million by faking royalties and deceiving listeners who didn't actually exist.

Smith's scheme led to serious charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. Prosecutors stated that Smith used software to automatically stream his generated tracks, creating the illusion that real artists were behind them. He allegedly invented fictitious bands such as "Callous Post," "Calorie Screams," and "Calvinistic Dust," releasing tracks with bizarre titles like "Zygotic Washstands" and "Zymotechnical."

Prosecutors emphasized, "Smith stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rightful owners whose songs were legitimately streamed." This case marks the first criminal case related to music streaming manipulation, initiated by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. If found guilty, Smith could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the charges.

Smith's scheme was carefully planned. He created thousands of fake streaming accounts by purchasing email addresses online. With up to 10,000 such accounts, he hired others to help create additional ones for a fee. Smith also developed software to repeatedly play his songs from various computers, creating the appearance of a real listener base. In 2017, prosecutors say he calculated that he could stream his tracks 661,440 times a day, earning him over $3,000 daily.

Smith initially uploaded his own original music to streaming platforms but soon realized that the volume of his tracks was insufficient to generate significant royalties. Attempts to use other people's music and offer promotion services for such tracks were unsuccessful. In 2018, he teamed up with the head of an AI-music company and a music promoter to create an extensive catalog of fake songs, which he then uploaded to streaming platforms.

As of June 2019, Smith was earning around $110,000 a month, part of which went to his accomplices. In a letter sent in February of this year, he boasted about reaching 4 billion streams and earning $12 million in royalties since 2019. However, when streaming companies began to suspect fraud and notified him of "multiple reports of abuse," Smith responded, "This is completely false, this is crazy! There is no fraud here! How can I appeal this?"