‘A Billion Streams and No Fans’: Inside a $10 Million AI Music Fraud Case

Almost nary one hits it large successful music. The likelihood are truthful bad it’s criminal. But connected a precocious outpouring evening successful Louisville, Kentucky, Mike Smith and Jonathan Hay were having that uncommon aureate infinitesimal erstwhile everything clicks. Smith was connected guitar. Hay was fiddling pinch nan drum instrumentality and keyboard. Dudes were grooving. Holed up successful Hay’s surviving room, surrounded by chordophones and accumulation gizmos, nan 2 musicians were hoping that their first medium arsenic a jazz duo would yet triumph them nan attraction they’d been chasing for years.

It was 2017. The men, past successful their forties, were longtime collaborators and business partners—though they made an overseas couple. Smith owned a drawstring of aesculapian clinics and wore tight shirts complete his meticulously maintained muscles. He lived successful a sprawling location successful nan suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, pinch his woman and six kids. He’d judged connected a reality TV show and written a self-help book. Hay—larger, softer, comfy successful sweatsuits and Crocs—lived successful an flat and was making love a stripper. He loved weed. He’d hustled arsenic a euphony publicist for years; by estimation he was champion known successful nan manufacture for promoting a atomic rumor that Rihanna had hooked up pinch Jay-Z. He’d recently, connected an impulse, had sleeves tattooed connected his arms. To debar annoying his health-nut friend, he’d sneak into his chamber to vape.

Smith and Hay vanished their medium and called it Jazz. That fall, they released it connected each nan accustomed places—Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal—and arsenic a beingness album. Alas, it grounded to return off. Smith and Hay weren’t full nobodies; a fewer songs they had coproduced for different artists years earlier had gotten immoderate buzz. So nan 2 men decided to retool Jazz and merchandise an updated version, adding caller songs.

Jazz (Deluxe) came retired successful January 2018. Right away, it changeable up nan Billboard floor plan and deed No. 1. Hay was elated. At last, real, measurable occurrence had arrived.

Then, conscionable arsenic suddenly, nan medium vanished from nan ranking. “Nobody drops disconnected nan adjacent week to zero,” says Hay, remembering his confusion. He called different artists to inquire if they’d ever seen this before. They hadn’t. Questions piled up. If truthful galore group had listened, why did they abruptly stop? He scanned nan net for chatter. Even a azygous freaking tweet would person been nice. Nada. Where were nan fans? “No one’s talking astir nan music,” Hay realized.

Pulling up Spotify’s dashboard for artists, Hay scrutinized nan analytics for nan pair’s work. Listeners appeared concentrated successful far-flung places for illustration Vietnam. Things only sewage alien from there. Here’s really Hay remembers it: He started receiving notices from distributors, nan companies that grip nan licensing of indie artists’ music. The distributors were flagging Smith and Hay’s music, from Jazz and from different projects, for streaming fraud and pulling it down. Smith told Hay it was a correction and that Hay had messed up securing nan due authorities for samples. Hay frantically tried to correct nan issue, but nan flagging persisted.

Hay, panicking, badgered Smith to thief him fig retired what was happening. Finally, Hay says, Smith offered immoderate answers: Smith had instructed his unit astatine nan aesculapian clinics to watercourse their songs. It didn’t sound for illustration nan afloat story.

Then, past September, Smith turned up astatine nan bosom of different euphony streaming incident, this 1 alternatively epic. The FBI arrested him and charged him successful nan first AI streaming fraud lawsuit successful nan United States. The authorities claims that betwixt 2017 and 2024, Smith made complete $10 cardinal successful royalties by utilizing bot armies to continuously play AI-generated tracks connected streaming platforms. Smith pleaded not blameworthy to each charges. (Through his lawyer, Smith declined to beryllium interviewed, truthful this is very overmuch Hay’s broadside of nan story, corroborated by galore interviews pinch group who worked pinch nan 2 men.)