spotify

He Made $8 Million Having Bots Fake-Listen to AI Songs. Real Artists Paid for It.

John Z Black Mar 23, 2026

AI Security #ai #music-fraud #streaming #royalties #spotify #apple-music #doj #ai-generated-content

Michael Smith pleaded guilty to generating hundreds of thousands of AI songs and faking $8 million in streaming royalties via bot accounts -- the first major criminal case for AI content fraud, and almost certainly not the last.

AI Fraud Hits the Charts: What the Streaming Bot Conviction Really Means

John Z Black Mar 21, 2026

AI Security #ai #fraud #streaming #spotify #platform-abuse #bot-detection #criminal-conviction

A North Carolina musician pleaded guilty to collecting millions in fraudulent streaming royalties using AI-generated music and bot accounts. The scam worked for years. That's the part worth understanding.