First Criminal Streaming Fraud Case: Botter Sentenced, Ordered to Repay $8M in Royalties

At this point, it feels like the music industry has simply adapted streaming bot-farmers into the business, but at least someone is facing some penalties for running up fake numbers. Earlier this year, the 54-year-old North Carolina singer-songwriter Mike Smith pleaded guilty for defrauding streaming services after he posted hundreds of thousands of AI-generated tracks and used bots to rack up billions of plays. Along the way, he raked in $8 million in royalties. It's the first criminal streaming fraud case in history, and it has now resulted in a prison sentence for Smith.

The post Botter Sentenced To Prison In First Criminal Streaming Fraud Case, Will Return $8M In Slop Royalties appeared first on Stereogum .

_Originally reported by [Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2513827/botter-sentenced-to-prison-in-first-criminal-streaming-fraud-case-will-return-8m-in-slop-royalties/news/)._