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First AI Streaming Fraud Conviction: North Carolina Man Sentenced to 18 Months for $8M Royalty Theft
technology-and-law1 day ago

First AI Streaming Fraud Conviction: North Carolina Man Sentenced to 18 Months for $8M Royalty Theft

Michael Smith, a 54-year-old North Carolina resident, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for the first criminal conviction involving AI-assisted music streaming fraud. Between 2017 and 2024, Smith used thousands of bots and AI-generated songs to artificially inflate streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, stealing approximately $8 million in royalties. The US Department of Justice highlighted the case as a landmark effort to deter fraud that dilutes earnings for genuine artists. While prosecutors sought a longer sentence, the judge imposed 18 months plus two years of supervised release, with Smith required to forfeit the illicit proceeds.

via Ars Technica|
#ai-music#doj#michael-smith
Michael Smith Sentenced to 18 Months for AI Streaming Fraud
legal-and-technology2 days ago

Michael Smith Sentenced to 18 Months for AI Streaming Fraud

Michael Smith, a 54-year-old North Carolina musician, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on October 6, 2026, for the first-ever criminal conviction involving AI-assisted streaming fraud. Smith pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud conspiracy after admitting he used bots to generate billions of fake streams for AI-generated songs between 2017 and 2024, collecting over $8 million in royalties. Judge John G. Koeltl in Manhattan rejected the defense’s request for probation and the prosecution’s demand for 46 months, ordering Smith to serve a year and a half in jail followed by two years of supervised release. He must also forfeit $8,091,843.64. The case highlights the growing threat of automated bots inflating play counts on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, diverting funds from legitimate artists.

via Pitchfork|
#ai-music#doj#legal-and-technology
Judge Sentences AI Music Fraudster to 18 Months in Landmark Ruling
legal-and-music-industry2 days ago

Judge Sentences AI Music Fraudster to 18 Months in Landmark Ruling

Michael Smith, a 54-year-old musician from North Carolina, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on October 6, 2026, for the first-ever criminal conviction involving AI-assisted streaming fraud. Smith pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud conspiracy after admitting he used bots to generate billions of fake streams for AI-generated songs between 2017 and 2024, collecting over $8 million in royalties. Judge John G. Koeltl in Manhattan rejected the defense’s request for probation and the prosecution’s demand for 46 months, ordering Smith to serve a year and a half in jail followed by two years of supervised release. He must also forfeit $8,091,843.64. The case highlights the growing threat of automated bots inflating play counts on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, diverting funds from legitimate artists.

via Billboard|
#ai-music#federal-sentencing#legal-and-music-industry
Judge Sentences First Music Streaming Fraud Convict to 18 Months
legal2 days ago

Judge Sentences First Music Streaming Fraud Convict to 18 Months

Michael Smith, the first individual federally charged for music streaming fraud, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on October 6, 2026. Smith, a North Carolina musician, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after using bots and AI-generated songs to generate over $8 million in fake royalties between 2017 and 2024. Judge John G. Koeltl imposed the sentence, which is significantly lower than the 46 months sought by prosecutors but higher than the probation requested by Smith’s defense. Smith must also forfeit $8.09 million. The case highlights the growing threat of AI-assisted fraud in the music industry, though industry groups argue structural reforms are needed beyond individual prosecutions.

via Rolling Stone|
#ai-music#federal-sentencing#legal
Suno Pulls Mary J. Blige AI Ad After Singer Says She Was Uncomfortable
entertainment1 month ago

Suno Pulls Mary J. Blige AI Ad After Singer Says She Was Uncomfortable

Suno has pulled its Mary J. Blige AI advertisement after confirming Blige was uncomfortable with the campaign; the company said it terminated the deal once it learned she wasn’t acting as her official representative. Blige hasn’t spoken publicly about the ad. The move comes amid broader scrutiny of AI-generated music and existing legal actions involving Suno with major labels.

via Yahoo|
#advertising-controversy#ai-music#entertainment
AI Ad Fallout: Unapproved Mary J. Blige Endorsement Sparks Suno Controversy
entertainment1 month ago

AI Ad Fallout: Unapproved Mary J. Blige Endorsement Sparks Suno Controversy

A Suno AI-generated ad featuring Mary J. Blige circulated online, showing her seemingly endorsing an AI-produced track, but Blige did not approve the campaign and Suno says an unauthorized representative made the deal; Suno has since terminated the advertising campaign, while Blige’s camp declined comment. The episode comes amid Suno’s broader licensing fights with major labels and ongoing copyright disputes in the industry.

via variety.com|
#ai-music#copyright#entertainment
Isbell Sparks Identity-Theft Suit Over Suno AI's Artist Names
technology1 month ago

Isbell Sparks Identity-Theft Suit Over Suno AI's Artist Names

Americana singer Jason Isbell leads a Massachusetts class-action accusing Suno AI of using musicians’ identities and real names in prompts to generate music, effectively stealing performers’ identity rights for commercial gain; the suit joins other claims against Suno from labels and artists, with Warner Music Group having settled elsewhere and the case seeking to halt ongoing exploitation and recover misappropriated value.

via - Saving Country Music|
#ai-music#class-action#copyright-law
Isbell Sues Suno Over AI That Evokes Musicians’ Identities
legal1 month ago

Isbell Sues Suno Over AI That Evokes Musicians’ Identities

Country star Jason Isbell leads a class-action against Suno, alleging its AI music platform encodes musicians’ identities as tokens to generate identity-evocative songs, descriptions and images from prompts, violating rights of publicity and potentially representing a class of artists; Suno says the claims are meritless and that it blocks prompts for specific artists, though the lawsuit argues those safeguards can be bypassed.

via Billboard|
#ai-music#class-action#jason-isbell
Spotify bets big on AI music as subscribers rise, stock dips
business2 months ago

Spotify bets big on AI music as subscribers rise, stock dips

Spotify reported 777 million total users and 300 million paid subscribers, while increasing AI-related spending as it rolls out new AI features. It introduced Talk to Spotify and is partnering with Universal Music Group and Merlin to enable AI-generated remixes and covers with real artists, emphasizing consent, credit, and compensation. The tool will be a paid add-on and will launch as a “research preview” when ready; the company is also adding friction to the free tier with more ads to push paid subscriptions. The stock fell about 8% at market close.

via Gizmodo|
#ai#ai-music#business
Sony escalates Udio copyright battle with new training-data lawsuit
technology2 months ago

Sony escalates Udio copyright battle with new training-data lawsuit

Sony filed a separate lawsuit against AI music generator Udio alleging it used 30,117 copyrighted recordings without permission to train its models. A court previously rejected adding those recordings to Sony’s 2024 complaint but allowed infringement claims for all copyrighted works; Udio reportedly ripped training data from YouTube (which it says is fair use), while Universal and Warner have licensing deals with Udio and Sony remains unlicensed. Sony seeks a jury trial and up to $150,000 in statutory damages per infringed work, with the case involving tracks linked to artists such as Alicia Keys, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson; The Verge has the list of songs involved.

via Engadget|
#ai-music#copyright#lawsuit
Suno Hack Exposes Data-Scraping Ties Behind Controversial AI Music
technology2 months ago

Suno Hack Exposes Data-Scraping Ties Behind Controversial AI Music

A late-2025 security breach at Suno, the AI music generator facing lawsuits from Sony and Universal Music Group, allegedly exposed that Suno trained its model by scraping millions of songs and lyrics from YouTube, Deezer, Genius and more. Suno says the incident was limited, involving outdated code and did not compromise sensitive personal data or full credit card numbers. The breach highlights ongoing debates about how AI music tools source training data and enforce copyright.

via Pitchfork|
#ai-music#copyright-lawsuit#data-breach
AI-made Suno slop pulls listeners away from real music
ai4 months ago

AI-made Suno slop pulls listeners away from real music

Terrence O’Brien investigates a Suno AI trend in which Reddit users listen almost exclusively to AI-generated music and even abandon traditional streaming platforms; few on-record interviews leave the reasons unclear, but posts claim AI tracks better match their tastes and allow exploration of far-out genres. The piece weighs theories of narcissism versus laziness as motivations—leaning toward laziness and the lure of instant gratification—while framing AI-generated music as part of a broader struggle to discover music amid overwhelming choices and algorithmic curation, with questions about the future of art and human musicians.

via The Verge|
#ai#ai-music#algorithmic-personalization