\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tA man who admitted to using AI music to steal millions in royalties now says he should get no prison time for the first-ever streaming fraud conviction, arguing the harm to any single artist was \u201cinsignificant\u201d and that \u201cbig labels\u201d were doing the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tMichael Smith, 54, pled guilty in March<\/a> to wire fraud conspiracy over accusations that he generated thousands of AI songs and then used bots to stream them billions of times. It\u2019s the first criminal case over a tricky problem that\u2019s plagued the music industry for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tUMG & Sony Hit Suno With New Lawsuit After Label-Backed Model: ‘Fruit of the Same Poisoned Tree’\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n<\/time>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
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\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tBillboard to Add Smart Media Albums As Chart-Eligible Sales Formats\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n<\/time>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
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\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tDuane 'Keffe D' Davis Gives First Interview After Tupac Shakur Murder Conviction\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n<\/time>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tFederal officials have recommended two years in prison, but in new court filings this week, Smith\u2019s attorneys say he should get just probation for a crime that caused only \u201ctiny, immeasurable losses\u201d spread across millions of songwriters and artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cThe effect each individual stream of one artist\u2019s song has on every other artist\u2019s share of total streams is not akin to a drop in a proverbial bucket \u2014 it is a drop in an ocean,\u201d Smith\u2019s lawyers write in the Tuesday (Sept. 22) filing, obtained by Billboard<\/em>. \u201cNo individual artist or songwriter suffered any perceptible harm from Mr. Smith\u2019s conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tStreaming fraud is a longstanding problem for the music business, made far worse in recent years by AI that can churn out fake songs and then enable bots to play them on repeat. By some estimates, several percentage points of all streams are inauthentic, amounting to billions of monthly plays. Since streaming royalties are divvied up among rightsholders from a finite pie of revenue, such phony numbers siphon off money from legitimate streams of real artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIn Tuesday\u2019s filing, Smith\u2019s lawyers say they\u2019re not making excuses \u2014 that he is \u201cprofoundly sorry\u201d and has \u201caccepted full responsibility\u201d for his crimes. They acknowledge that he used \u201cincreasingly deceptive tactics\u201d and directly lied when his conduct was eventually flagged: \u201cHe knew that he was cheating the system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tBut they also argue that such shady behavior on streaming platforms is \u201cindisputably rampant\u201d in the music industry, \u201cincluding by big labels and publishers\u201d \u2014 and that it was not clear that what he was doing was actually illegal when he first started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cHe did not set out to commit a crime; he thought he found a way to game a corrupt system that financially incentivized and profited from artificial streaming \u2014 a system that otherwise only served corporate interests,\u201d Smith\u2019s lawyers write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cStreaming fraud is \u2026 a systemic problem rooted in the structure of the digital royalty system itself,\u201d Smith\u2019s attorneys add. \u201cNo custodial sentence imposed on an individual American defendant can eliminate the incentives that drive billions of dollars in fraudulent activity worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment. The prosecution will file its own sentencing recommendations in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tSmith was arrested in 2024 on a three-count indictment that charged him with using thousands of bots to continuously stream his songs on multiple platforms, including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and YouTube Music, starting in 2017. Prosecutors said Smith originally used his own human-created music but later turned to mass-produced AI tracks to feed the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe case claimed AI songs were supplied by an unnamed CEO of an AI music company after Smith promised to share the proceeds of his efforts. The AI firm was not identified in court papers, but Billboard<\/em> reported<\/a> that hundreds of the songs registered to Smith list Alex Mitchell<\/strong>, founder of the AI firm Boomy, as a co-writer. Mitchell has not been charged with any crime; he told Billboard<\/em> at the time that he was \u201cshocked\u201d by the charges and that Smith \u201cconsistently represented himself as legitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIn March, Smith entered a guilty plea on a single count of wire fraud conspiracy and agreed to forfeit more than $8 million in streaming fraud proceeds. \u201cAlthough the songs and listeners were fake, the millions of dollars Smith stole was real,\u201d U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton<\/strong> said at the time. \u201cMillions of dollars in royalties that Smith diverted from real, deserving artists and rights holders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWire fraud conspiracy carries a five-year maximum prison sentence, and federal guidelines call for between 46 and 57 months in Smith\u2019s case. But the Presentence Investigation Report, an important tool used by judges to decide sentences, recommended a lighter sentence of 24 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIn Tuesday\u2019s brief, Smith\u2019s lawyers pleaded with the judge to avoid prison altogether, citing his lack of a criminal record, alleged history of good deeds and impact on his family: \u201cWhile he made serious mistakes here, those mistakes do not define him as a person, and his fundamentally good character should assure the court that he presents no risk to the public going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Michael Smith argues his streaming fraud scheme \u2014 using bots to play AI songs billions of times \u2014 caused only \u201ctiny, immeasurable losses\u201d for any single 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