A federal court has sentenced Michael Smith to 18 months in prison for an AI music royalty fraud scheme that allegedly generated more than $8 million through billions of artificial streams. The case exposes vulnerabilities in streaming payouts and raises fresh questions about how platforms can protect legitimate artists as AI-generated music expands.
View More AI Music Royalty Fraud: Man Sentenced to 18 Months for $8 Million Streaming Scheme
Spotify is introducing an “AI Persona” badge to identify selected AI-generated artist identities across its platform. The company will also exclude labeled AI Personas from editorial and algorithmic recommendations by default, marking a major new step in its response to synthetic music, streaming fraud, and concerns from human artists.
View More Spotify Will Label AI Artists And Remove Them From Recommendations
Spotify has quietly removed its Viral 50 charts, ending one of streaming’s most influential tools for tracking breakout music trends. The decision raises major questions about algorithmic discovery, AI-generated content, and the future of viral music culture.
View More Spotify Shuts Down Viral 50 Charts and the Music Industry Is Paying Attention
The Supreme Court has confirmed that fully AI-generated works without human input cannot be copyrighted. Music producers and artists must now demonstrate meaningful human creativity to protect AI-assisted content.
View More Supreme Court Rules AI-Generated Works Cannot Be Copyrighted Without Human Input
Spotify’s new co-CEOs, Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström, aim to make 15% of the world’s population Spotify Premium subscribers, marking a bold new era after Daniel Ek’s transition to Executive Chairman.
View More Spotify’s Bold New Era: Co-CEOs Aim to Turn 15% of the World Into Paying Subscribers
YouTube Music celebrates its 10th anniversary with new features, including Taste Match playlists, concert discovery tools, and fan badges, directly challenging Spotify.
View More YouTube Music Challenges Spotify with New Social Playlists and Live Show Features
Spotify has removed AI-generated songs that were uploaded to the official profiles of deceased musicians Blaze Foley and Guy Clark without approval. The incident raises questions about digital rights and AI ethics in the music industry.
View More Spotify Publishes AI-Generated Music on Profiles of Deceased Artists Without Permission
A new report by Legitary ranks SoundCloud as the most transparent streaming platform, while TikTok and YouTube struggle with reporting accuracy.
View More SoundCloud Leads in Streaming Transparency, While TikTok Falls Behind
Is Amazon Music Adopting Spotify’s 1,000-Stream Minimum for Royalties?
View More Is Amazon Music Adopting Spotify’s 1,000-Stream Minimum for Royalties?
An Artist Would Need 314 Billion Streams to Match What Spotify Execs Cashed Out in 2024
View More An Artist Would Need 314 Billion Streams to Match What Spotify Execs Cashed Out in 2024