Man Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison For Music Streaming Fraud

Mike Smith, a man from North Carolina, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison following his appearance at federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, October 6. This sentence will be followed by two years of supervised release. According to Pitchfork, Smith is the first person to face federal charges for music streaming fraud, having used thousands of bots to stream both his own music and AI-generated songs he purchased and uploaded and collected millions in royalties from these streams. Smith also pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in March, a charge that carried a maximum prison sentence of five years. While Smith’s sentence is shorter than the 46 month sentence proposed by the federal prosecutors, his lawyers argued that he should only get probation. Smith also agreed to forfeit $8 million in streaming proceeds as part of his plea deal. When addressing the court, Smith stated, “I betrayed the music community I care so much about,” adding that he had turned his love of music into a “perverse business model.” He concluded his statement by stating, “I have made a mess of what was an honorable life.” “By flooding music streaming platforms with automated bots in the place of consumers, and fake songs in the place of creativity, Smith robbed millions in royalty payments from genuine artists and their fans. This Office is committed to ensuring the integrity of all markets, and protecting the public from those who use super intelligence for fraud,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a press release.