Manhattan federal prosecutors are seeking at least 46 months in prison for Mike Smith, the North Carolina man who created thousands of fake songs by AI before having them listened to billions of times by robots. According to the prosecution, he pocketed more than $8 million in royalties over more than six years. His defense pleads for simple probation, the sentence will be pronounced on October 6.
The North Carolina man who used artificial intelligence to create thousands of fake tracks attributed to made-up artists, then unleashed an army of bot accounts to listen to them billions of times and siphon millions in royalty funds intended for real artists, deserves a “significant sanction”prosecutors believe.
In a letter filed Tuesday, including WECB obtained a copy, federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked the judge to sentence Michael Smith to at least 46 months in prison for the fraud he admitted to. His defense calls for no incarceration, only probation. The federal probation services, for their part, recommend 24 months in prison. Sentencing is set for October 6 in Manhattan federal court.
In their letter, prosecutors say Smith became so adept at artificially inflating plays for his music on platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music that his share of subscription-fueled royalty funds sometimes exceeded that of the industry’s biggest stars. In April 2023, for example, Taylor Swift’s entire catalog accumulated 9.3 million plays from subscribers to YouTube Music’s Family offering, according to prosecutors, compared to 80.9 million for Smith’s.
Still according to prosecutors, Smith pocketed a total of more than $8 million in improper royalties, by conducting his “massive fraud” for more than six years. They believe a severe sentence is necessary “to inflict a just sanction” and to deter other white-collar offenders in the future.
Smith accepted the deal offered by prosecutors in March, pleading guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy to commit wire fraud, punishable by up to five years in prison. He also agreed to pay $8,091,843.64 in forfeiture.
In documents filed last week, Smith and his lawyers claimed he was “deeply sorry” of his actions, but that he “did not initially intend to commit a federal crime”.
Prosecutors disputed that version in their Tuesday filing, arguing that “his own words and actions show that he knew from the start that his scheme amounted to fraud”. According to them, he knowingly carried out this fraud on a daily basis for these six years.
