A man in North Carolina, identified as Rob Smith, received millions of dollars from music platforms for songs that were never actually played. According to an indictment filed by prosecutors investigating the case, Smith managed to deceive platforms like Spotify and Apple Music into issuing royalty payments for music that went unheard.
Smith was arrested on Wednesday and faces charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, as stated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The indictment reveals that Smith accrued over $10 million using this scheme.
It was the first of its kind
According to the allegations, Smith had his songs created by artificial intelligence and then played these tracks using bots with fake accounts. The indictment states that Smith collaborated with the CEO of an AI startup to produce thousands of fictitious songs, which were then streamed by numerous fake accounts to evade the platforms’ algorithms.
The song and artist names were randomly generated, with Smith receiving 15% of the earnings from this scheme. Some of the song titles included names like “Zygophyceae,” “Zygophyllaceae,” “Zygophyllum,” “Zygopteraceae,” “Zygopteris,” “Zygopteron,” “Zygopterous,” and “Zygotic Washstands.”
Additionally, Smith has previously faced fraud allegations from a distribution company, which he has denied. Prosecutors are now seeking a sentence of up to 60 years for Smith.
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